1 

H 


OF  THE  WO 


CONSTANCE  ARMFIELD 


Ex  Libris 
C.  K.  OGDEN 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


z 


Wi' 


Cap  0'  Rushes  Threw  Back  Her  Cap  and  Cloak 


Page  162 


WONDER  TALES   OF 
THE  WORLD 


RETOLD  BY 

CONSTANCE  ARMFIELD 


ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 

MAXWELL  ARMFIELD 


NEW  YORK 

HARCOURT,  BRACE  AND  HOWE 
1920 


COPYRIGHT,    I92O,   BY 
HARCOURT,    BRACK  AND    HOWE,   INC. 


THE  OUINN  a   BOOEN    COMPANY 
RAHWAV     N    J 


PZ 
8 


TO 

THE  FAMILY 

PETER,  OLIVER,  AND  PAMELA, 

KENNETH  AND  BARBARA, 

KATHARINE  AND  X. 


10144G9 


All  the  bridges  are  broken  down, 

Broken  down,  broken  down, 
Walls  and  bridges  'twixt  town  and  town 

All  on  a  springtime  morning. 

And  all  the  tales  come  racing  forth, 

Racing  forth,  racing  forth, 

East  and  West  and  South  and  North, 

All  on  a  midsummer  morning. 

Here  we  come  gathering  wondertales, 

Wondertales,  wondertales, 

Korea,  America,  Persia,  Wales, 

All  on  an  autumn  morning. 

What  shall  we  do  with  our  harvesting, 

Harvesting,  harvesting? 
Bring  it  to  the  children's  King, 

All  on  a  Christmas  morning. 

Whom  shall  we  thank  for  our  wonderbook, 

Wonderbook,  wonderbook  ? 

All  the  authors  from  whom  we  took 

These  tales  for  a  holiday  morning. 

Who  are  the  authors,  please  to  say, 

Please  to  say,  please  to  say? 

Nobody  knows,  they  are  so  far  away 

In  the  mist  of  the  world's  first  morning. 

But  still  their  tales  are  bright  and  new, 

Folktales  new,  folktales  new, 

As  the  world  grows  brighter,  the  tales  grow  too 

In  the  sun  of  the  world's  new  morning. 

C.  A. 

California.    June  17,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

America.  THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL      .       .  3 

Arabia  THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING      .  17 

Bulgaria  THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME      .       .       .       .  31 

Japan  LAZY  TARO 47 

Greece  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE      ...  63 

Hungary  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS       ....  79 

India  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS     ....  99 

Ireland  TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN 115 

Japan  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW     ....  129 

England  CAP  o'  RUSHES 145 

Korea  How  OPPORTUNITY  CAME     ....  167 

Norway  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY       .       .       .       .179 

Scotland  THE  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAIL  YARD  197 

New  Zealand    THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND    .  213 

Serbia  HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH    .  225 

Persia  FITNA  AND  THE  Cow 241 

Wales  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 253 


FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Cap  o'  Rushes  threw  back  her  cap  and  cloak.     [In  color.] 

Frontispiece 
King  Solomon  and  the  Hoopoe.     [In  color.]       ...       22 

Six  magnificent  pairs  of  cattle  coming  up  from  the  meadows, 

with  the  children  driving  them 35 

Placing  its  beak  against  his  arm,  restored  first  one  muscle 

and  then  the  other 65 

"  This  is  our  son  whom  we  thought  lost,"  cried  his  mother  75 

A  stream  of  jewels  was  flowing  down  to  him.    [In  color.]  .  92 

And  as  the  princess  looked  at  him  she  laughed  for  the 

third  time 125 

Olaf  got  off  the  ship  and  ran  alongside  the  king  to  the  palace  191 
They  all  set  to  work  to  carry  stones  from  the  moor  .  .  199 
The  boys  who  left  trouble  behind.  [In  color.]  .  .  .216 

He  climbed  the  tree  and  gathered  a  good  basket  of  the 

plumpest  and  rosiest  pears 227 

She  proceeded  to  mount  the  stair  as  easily  as  if  she  were 

carrying  a  feather 247 

They  played  with  golden  chessmen  on  a  silver  board       .     257 


WONDER  TALES  OF  THE  WORLD 


THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL 
A  Tale  of  America 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  family  that  went 
by  the  name  of  Badger,  because  every  one, 
from  Grandmother  to  the  smallest  child,  was  as 
industrious  as  those  diligent  little  creatures.  They 
lived  in  a  forest  in  America  and  belonged  to  the  tribe 
of  the  Sioux.  There  were  no  cities  in  America  then 
and  the  Americans  were  strong  and  handsome  and 
sunburnt  because  they  lived  out-of-doors  and  made 
everything  they  needed  for  themselves.  Everything 
they  made,  whether  it  was  a  birch-bark  cradle  or  a 
buckskin  shirt,  was  decorated  with  beautiful  patterns 
and  colours,  just  as  the  birds  and  flowers  were  deco- 
rated and  adorned. 

Even  the  buffalo-skin  bags  in  which  they  kept  the 
winter  stock  of  provisions  were  painted  in  bright 
patterns,  so  that  the  shelves  of  their  caves  and  their 
tepees  were  as  gay  as  flower  gardens  in  summer,  and 


4       THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL 

all  the  children  who  ran  in  and  out  were  as  pretty 

as  butterflies. 

One  day  a  stranger  came  to  beg  for  a  little  food; 
he  told  a  sad  tale  that  his  spring-planting  had  not 
been  successful  and  his  family  was  starving.  Gladly 
the  Badgers  gave  of  their  store,  for  the  corn  was 
high  and  loaded  with  fat  ears;  the  pumpkins  were 
golden  and  the  beans  were  hanging  in  great  clusters, 
every  pod  well-filled.  When  the  stranger  thanked 
them,  the  father  Badger  shook  his  head  smiling  and 
said:  "  Nay,  my  brother;  thank  the  Great  Spirit  who 
has  sent  this  plentiful  supply;  food  belongs  to  all 
His  children.  Eat  what  you  will." 

They  were  surprised  the  next  day,  however,  to  see 
their  guest  return  with  a  small  child,  his  son,  who 
carried  a  rough  bag,  unpainted  and  badly  sewn  to- 
gether. The  stranger  now  said  his  name  was  Bear 
and  asked  somewhat  timidly  if  they  could  spare  a 
little  food  for  his  children  at  home.  His  small  boy 
looked  so  thin  and  hungry  that  the  Badger  children 
could  not  bring  him  enough  and  soon  his  frightened 
face  began  to  smile  and  he  and  his  father  went  off, 
lugging  their  bag  loaded  to  the  brim.  The  next  day 
the  Badger  family  went  out  to  gather  in  the  bean 


THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL   5 

harvest,  but  when  they  returned,  singing  thankful 
songs  and  rejoicing  in  the  thought  of  the  Great 
Father's  kindness,  whom  should  they  see  but  Mr. 
Bear  and  five  children  seated  round  the  entrance  to 
their  home.  But  there  was  so  great  a  harvest  that 
they  were  glad  enough  to  share  it  with  the  Bears 
who  went  away  with  their  arms  full. 

The  Badgers  noticed  this  evening,  however,  that 
already  the  visitors  looked  plumper  and  the  father 
Bear  no  longer  spoke  in  a  humble,  whining  voice, 
but  shouted  to  this  one  or  that  and  picked  over  the 
food  that  was  offered  to  be  sure  he  only  took  the 
best. 

When,  next  day,  the  Bear's  wife  arrived  with 
seven  children  and  a  little  sled  to  which  a  dog  was 
harnessed,  the  grandmother  Badger  shook  her 
wise  old  head,  but  the  father  and  mother  Badger 
would  not  say  no,  and  they  went  out  to  the  corn 
patch  and  laid  beautiful  green  ears,  tasselled  with 
pale  gold,  upon  the  sled,  and  bade  the  Bears  fare- 
well and  a  good  journey  as  if  they  were  their 
kin. 

But  the  next  day  Mr.  Bear  turned  up  again  and  so 
it  went,  each  day  the  Bears  appearing  more  and  more 


6       THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL 

impudent  and  fat  and  strong  as  they  waxed  vigorous 
on  the  food  the  Badgers  had  provided.  Now  the 
grandmother  demurred  openly  and  even  Mrs. 
Badger  wondered  that  the  Bears  did  not  offer  to 
render  some  small  service  in  return  for  all  this  food, 
but  Father  Badger  persisted  that  their  part  was  but 
to  give  to  their  brothers  who  were  in  need,  even  as  the 
Great  Spirit  gave  to  them.  "  Food  belongs  to  all," 
said  he,  and  that  was  the  end  of  it. 

Presently  they  noticed  what  a  great  interest  the 
Bears  took  in  the  preparations  for  the  winter;  in 
fact,  Mr.  Bear  was  almost  rude  in  the  way  he 
hectored  and  scolded  and  blustered,  saying  that  their 
crops  should  have  been  gathered  in  long  before  this 
and  the  little  Badger  children  should  not  be  allowed 
to  play  at  all  or  run  in  the  forest  looking  for  flowers 
whose  juice  dyed  pretty  colours. 

"  Get  all  the  food  together,"  cried  Mr.  Bear.  "  It 
is  senseless  to  waste  time  on  making  things  beauti- 
ful. A  man  cannot  live  on  beauty;  beauty  does  not 
fill  his  stomach.  Let  the  children  seek  berries,  and 
dry  and  store  those  if  you  like.  I  am  partial  to 
berries  when  my  dinner  is  over  and  I  cannot  eat 
another  morsel  of  tallow  or  pemmican.  But  all  this 


THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL   7 

painting  of  bags  and  this  trimming  with  beads  and 
feathers  is  of  no  use  to  any  one." 

"  He  talks  as  if  the  place  were  his  own,"  said 
Mrs.  Badger  when  Bear  had  gone.  "  May  we  not 
make  use  of  the  hands  and  the  eyes  we  have  been 
given  ?  " 

But  Father  Badger  continued  his  gentle  kindness, 
and  said  gravely  when  the  women  rebelled:  "  Let  us 
do  our  part,  even  as  the  Great  Spirit  does  His.  Our 
brothers  must  be  fed." 

But  one  day,  when  the  little  Badgers  ran  to  their 
mother  for  some  honey  which  she  had  just  found 
in  a  hollow  tree,  Mr.  Bear  actually  knocked  them  to 
one  side,  and  snatched  the  honey  from  their  mother's 
hand,  crying  that  honey  was  his  favourite  food,  and 
marched  off  with  the  comb. 

Even  now,  though  the  grandmother  warned  him 
that  the  Bears  were  becoming  ungovernable  in  their 
greed,  Father  Badger  persisted  that  it  was  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  keep  for  one's  self  and  that 
food  belonged  to  all. 

Soon  after,  when  the  harvest  was  gathered  and 
stored,  the  Badgers  went  out  for  a  great  tramp 
through  the  woods,  even  Grandmother  coming  to 


8       THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL 

enjoy  and  marvel  at  the  beautiful  colours  of  the 
leaves  reflected  in  the  river.  When  they  returned, 
what  was  their  surprise  to  see  smoke  rising  from 
their  home,  and,  running  up,  they  found  all  the 
Bear  family  cosily  settled.  They  drove  the  Badgers 
from  the  door  with  shouts  of  laughter  and  the 
Badgers  were  far  too  few  in  number  to  turn  them 
out. 

The  Bears  had  waxed  strong  on  the  Badgers' 
food  and  now  they  had  taken  the  Badgers'  home 
with  all  their  supply  of  provisions  for  the  winter. 
There  was  not  so  much  as  a  pumpkin  or  a  bean  left 
in  the  fields  nor  a  berry  in  the  forest. 

So  the  poor  Badgers  were  forced  to  make  them- 
selves a  shelter  from  boughs  and  stuff  the  twigs 
with  leaves  and  moss. 

In  the  morning  Father  Badger  rose  up  and  to  his 
family's  surprise  told  them  he  was  going  to  the 
Bears  to  beg  for  some  food  for  his  family. 

'  What  ?  You  would  ask  them  for  what  is  really 
ours?"  cried  his  wife. 

"Food  belongs  to  all,"  answered  Father  Badger. 
"  It  will  be  good  for  us  to  learn  that  we  have  nothing 
of  our  own.  If  kindness  and  pity  move  the  heart  of 


THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL   9 

our  brother  to  give  us  some  of  the  store  he  has 
seized,  we  may  know  that  the  Great  Spirit  is  speak- 
ing through  him  and  that  some  day  he  will  be 
taught  gratitude  and  justice.  I  must  ask,  for  there 
is  no  longer  any  food  in  the  forest." 

So  Father  Badger  went  to  the  door  of  his  home, 
where  the  Bears  were  quarrelling  and  shouting  and 
tearing  open  the  beautiful  bags  of  food,  spoiling  the 
pretty  patterns  and  scattering  everything  waste- 
fully  upon  the  floor.  But  give  a  morsel  to  the 
Badgers,  they  would  not.  Instead,  they  shouted 
rude  words  at  him,  calling  him  a  weak  and  wretched 
beggar,  and  mocking  at  his  plight.  One  would  think 
the  Badgers'  home  and  food  had  always  belonged  to 
them,  from  the  haughty  airs  they  put  on  when  they 
saw  the  Badger,  standing  meekly  and  patiently, 
asking  for  a  little  food  on  which  he  and  his  children 
might  keep  life  together.  It  was  plain  that  the 
Bears  had  quite  forgotten  that  the  Badgers  had  ever 
owned  the  cave.  They  seemed  to  think  themselves 
very  splendid  people  for  having  accepted  the 
Badgers'  kindness  until  they  were  strong  enough  to 
turn  them  out.  And  they  had  nothing  but  contempt 
for  the  people  who  had  been  so  generous  to  them. 


io     THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL 

The  father  Badger  returned  home  at  last,  saying 
to  himself:  "Food  is  for  all,"  and  feeling  sure  that 
the  Great  Spirit  would  somehow  provide  food  for 
them.  He  had  not  been  home  long,  (if  one  might 
call  home  the  shelter  of  leaves  and  boughs  that  they 
had  put  together)  when  a  fat  little  face  peeped  in, 
and  lo  and  behold!  who  should  have  followed  him 
but  the  little  Bear  who  had  come  with  his  father  the 
second  time?  He  had  not  forgotten  his  little  play- 
fellows and  had  brought  them  some  of  his  own 
dinner. 

That  was  not  very  much,  but  it  was  something 
and  though  day  after  day  the  father  Badger  went 
to  the  Bears  and  humbly  asked  for  food,  and  day 
after  day  the  Bears  mocked  at  him  and  sent  him 
away  with  nothing,  yet  the  little  Bear  always  stole 
off  and  carried  a  few  fragments  to  them. 

It  did  seem,  however,  as  if  the  Badgers  had  been 
turned  out  of  their  beautiful  home  forever  and  the 
children  grew  thinner  and  thinner  and  huddled 
round  the  little  fire  in  the  tepee,  too  weak  to  play, 
while  the  grandmother  and  the  mother  whispered 
together,  thinking  over  the  past  and  wishing  they 
had  never  been  kind  to  the  Bears. 


THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL   n 

But  Father  Badger  continued  to  go  to  the  cave 
and  wait  at  the  entrance  every  day,  quietly  asking 
the  Bears  to  share  their  store  with  him.  And  then, 
one  day,  something  really  did  happen.  As  he  was 
turning  away,  he  beheld  an  ear  of  corn  lying  on  the 
ground.  Some  careless  Bear  had  dropped  it,  but  the 
father  Badger  did  not  despise  it  because  of  that.  No. 
He  picked  it  up  eagerly,  for  this  was  good  food,  and 
did  he  not  say  that  all  food  came  from  the  Great 
Father  ?  Therefore  it  seemed  to  him  this  ear  of  corn 
had  been  given  to  him,  to  show  that  the  Great 
Father  had  heard  his  cry  and  had  given  him  some- 
thing for  his  needs. 

Now  many  a  man  might  have  thought  one  ear  of 
corn  was  a  very  poor  gift,  after  he  had  worked  so 
hard  and  had  gotten  together  such  a  fine  store, 
through  his  and  his  family's  unflagging  labours; 
but  not  so  Father  Badger.  Instead  of  taking  home 
the  corn,  he  went  to  the  Smoke  Lodge,  or  the  tepee, 
which  they  used  as  we  use  a  church.  Here  the  Sioux 
would  sit  and  pray  until  they  were  purified  of  all 
wrong  thoughts  and  here  the  father  Badger  brought 
his  ear  of  corn,  and,  placing  it  before  him,  sat  down 
on  the  ground  inside  the  tepee,  to  give  thanks  to 


12     THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL 
the  Great  Spirit  and  pray  that  the  corn  might  be 
blessed. 

At  last,  he  rose,  looking  very  happy,  and  went  out, 
quite  sure  that  there  was  food  for  all  and  that  he 
had  only  to  go  on  trusting.  Any  bitter  thoughts  he 
had  had  against  the  Bears  had  rolled  away  in  the 
haze  of  the  Smoke  Lodge;  he  knew  now  that  he 
loved  his  enemies  and  they  were  all  children  of  the 
Great  Spirit  who  sent  food  for  all. 

But  what  was  his  surprise,  to  see  standing  by  the 
tepee,  as  if  waiting  for  him,  a  splendid  young  Dakota 
brave,  clad  in  the  most  gorgeous  garments,  fringed, 
beaded,  and  feathered.  His  eyes  were  stern  and  true, 
but  full  of  kindness  for  the  father  Badger  and  he 
greeted  him  as  if  he  were  a  friend. 

Then  this  magnificent  stranger  said  to  Father 
Badger,  "  I  wish  to  go  with  you  to  your  home." 

'  You  will  be  welcome,"  said  Father  Badger,  and 
led  him  to  the  little  shelter.  All  made  the  stranger 
welcome,  and  the  mother  Badger  hastened  to  rub 
the  corn  from  the  one  small  ear,  and  grind  it  into 
flour,  and  make  a  little  cake  which  she  placed  before 
their  guest. 

The  stranger  said  nothing,  but  accepted  the  food 


THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL     13 

and  the  Badgers  entertained  him  as  best  they  could 
with  song  and  story.  They  did  not  say  a  word  about 
their  troubles  nor  apologise  for  the  scanty  fare  which 
was  all  they  had  to  offer.  But  they  tried  to  make 
the  strange  guest  feel  at  home  and  happy. 

Next  morning  there  was  nothing  to  offer  him  but 
fresh  water  from  the  spring,  but  Father  Badger  rose 
up  early  to  go  to  the  Bears'  cave  and  ask  once  more 
for  food.  To  his  surprise,  however,  he  found  the 
Dakota  brave  beside  him.  They  walked  together 
and  still  the  Badger  never  said  a  word  about  his 
errand.  When  they  reached  the  cave,  the  Dakota 
brave  stood  waiting,  looking  very  grave  and 
splendid,  and  the  Bear,  as  usual,  came  to  the 
entrance. 

But  directly  he  saw  the  strange  friend  of  Father 
Badger,  he  started  back,  and  hurrying  into  the  cave 
returned  with  his  hands  full  of  food  which  he  pressed 
upon  Father  Badger. 

Then  did  the  stranger  step  forward  and  say 
sternly :  "  That  is  not  enough.  You  must  give  him 
back  his  home." 

At  this,  every  one  of  the  Bears  scuttled  out  just 
as  quickly  as  they  could  and  flew  into  the  forest, 


i4  THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL 
running  on  and  on,  as  if  they  were  terribly  afraid. 
And  from  that  day  to  this,  no  one  ever  saw  anything 
more  of  them.  But  the  Badgers  joyfully  returned  to 
their  home  and  mended  everything  the  Bears  had 
torn,  and  soon  had  their  own  lovely  cave  looking  as 
sweet  as  ever.  Then  said  the  stranger,  "  I  go  over 
all  the  world."  And  he,  too,  went  away. 

Who  he  was,  they  never  knew,  for  they  never  saw 
him  again.  But  when  they  heard  of  good  things 
happening  in  far-away  parts  of  the  country,  Father 
Badger  would  say:  "The  Avenger  has  passed  that 
way." 

But  one  day  they  heard  of  another  friend. 

Who  should  come  through  the  trees  but  a  little 
footsore  creature,  still  fat,  but  not  as  sleek  as  he  used 
to  be !  He  ran  up  to  them  and  cried  out,  "  Little 
Bear  has  come  to  learn  how  to  paint  the  pretty 
pictures  on  the  parfleches,"  (the  name  they  gave  to 
the  food  bags)  and  behold,  it  was  the  little  friend 
who  alone  had  remembered  the  Badgers  in  the  time 
of  their  affliction. 

He  had  come  to  live  with  them  and  work  with 
them  and  serve  them  as  a  son. 

So  the  Badgers  taught  Little  Bear  to  make  bright 


THE  FOOD  THAT  BELONGED  TO  ALL     15 

patterns  and  make  everything  he  wore  and  used  as 
beautiful  as  he  possibly  could. 

"  Beauty,"  said  Father  Badger,  "  is  like  food.    It 
comes  from  the  Great  Father,  and  it  belongs  to  all." 


THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING 
» 

A  Tale  of  Arabia 

THIS  is  how  the  Hoopoes  came  to  know  the  great 
King  Solomon.  Once  he  was  far  out  in  the 
wilderness,  for  there  was  no  part  of  his  kingdom  that 
Solomon  did  not  visit;  he  had  seen  that  the  great 
store  city  was  finished  to  his  liking,  even  Tadmor 
in  the  desert,  and  across  the  sand,  the  King's  caval- 
cade made  its  way,  with  the  camels  and  the  drome- 
daries and  their  broidered  saddle-cloths  bright  as 
flowers,  and  jewelled  bridles  flashing  as  brightly  as 
the  sun  itself.  But  the  heat  smote  down  on  the 
King's  head,  and  Solomon  yearned  for  shade.  As 
if  in  answer  to  his  longing,  who  should  appear  but 
a  flock  of  Hoopoes.  Being  curious  by  nature,  they 
circled  round  until  they  reached  the  King's  camel 
and  kept  just  overhead,  so  that  they  might  watch 
this  most  famous  of  all  monarchs  and  perchance 
overhear  some  word  of  wisdom.  Thus  the  little 

17 


1 8  THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING 
birds  cast  a  grateful  shadow  over  the  King  for  his 
whole  journey  and  richly  repaid  they  were,  for 
Solomon  always  polite  to  the  humblest  creature  in 
his  kingdom,  conversed  freely  with  them  during  the 
whole  time.  When  they  reached  his  palace,  he 
thanked  them  for  the  service  they  had  done  him, 
and  asked  what  he  could  do  in  return. 

Now  the  Hoopoes  had  begun  their  conversation 
with  Solomon  modestly  enough;  in  fact,  they  had 
been  very  surprised  that  he  had  spoken  to  them  at 
all.  But  he  had  questioned  them  so  kindly  about 
their  ways  of  living,  and  their  likes  and  preferences 
and  relations,  that  they  lost  their  fear  of  him  and 
they  came  to  this  wonderful  palace  and  saw  all  the 
servants  in  their  shining  robes  standing  behind  the 
King's  throne,  and  waiting  at  his  table,  and  lining 
the  great  court-yard,  and  when  they  beheld  the  walls 
of  ivory  inlaid  with  gold  and  the  golden  lions  guard- 
ing the  steps  and  the  white  peacocks  on  the  silver 
terraces,  it  quite  turned  their  heads  to  think  they 
had  journeyed  right  across  the  desert  with  the 
owner  of  these  riches. 

So  instead  of  answering  Solomon  with  thanks  on 
their  part  and  telling  him  his  words  of  wisdom  were 


THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING      19 

rich  reward  for  any  shelter  they  had  given,  the 
Hoopoes  begged  leave  to  consult  together  and  with- 
drew to  the  palace  roof  where  they  discussed  what 
they  would  ask  for. 

Finally  they  decided  they  would  like  golden 
crowns  such  as  the  King  himself  wore;  then  they 
could  return  to  the  other  birds  and  reign  over  them. 
Thereupon  the  little  birds  flew  down  with  a  rush  and 
made  their  request  to  the  King  as  he  walked  in  his 
wonderful  garden. 

"  What  the  King  has  said,  the  King  has  said," 
Solomon  replied.  '  The  gift  you  desire  shall  be 
granted;  yet,  because  you  rendered  me  true  service, 
when  you  wish  to  get  rid  of  your  crowns,  you  may 
return  and  exchange  them  for  wisdom." 

"  Nay,  King,"  said  the  Hoopoes.  "  Well  we 
know  that  wisdom  has  brought  you  great  renown, 
but  no  one  would  bow  down  to  you  or  give  attention 
to  your  words,  unless  you  wore  your  golden  crown. 
We  shall  be  able  to  repeat  your  wise  words  profit- 
ably now,  for  all  will  listen  when  they  see  gold 
crowns  on  our  heads  too." 

"  All  the  same,  return  to  me  without  fear  or 
shame,  if  your  crowns  do  not  satisfy,"  said  King 


20  THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING 
Solomon  kindly  and  ordered  his  goldsmiths  to  sup- 
ply the  Hoopoes  with  crowns  of  the  finest  gold 
procurable.  Off  flew  the  silly  little  birds,  therefore, 
with  the  shining  crowns  upon  their  heads,  prouder 
than  the  peacocks  and  chattering  more  loudly  than 
the  parrots  and  macaws. 

They  could  scarcely  wait  to  get  back  to  their 
friends  and  hear  their  exclamations.  But  when  the 
Hoopoes  informed  their  friends  they  were  now  Kings 
of  the  Bird  World,  their  friends  only  laughed  and 
said  they  were  quite  satisfied  with  Solomon,  and  he 
was  the  only  King  they  wished  or  needed.  Then  they 
drove  the  Hoopoes  from  the  trees  for  their  golden 
crowns  were  always  catching  in  the  branches  and  the 
other  birds  became  tired  of  helping  them  out.  But 
the  Hoopoes  decided  the  other  birds  were  jealous 
and,  rather  flattered,  gathered  round  the  pools  so 
that  they  could  admire  themselves  in  the  water. 
Very  soon  people  began  to  notice  the  queer  antics 
of  the  silly  little  things  as  they  strutted  up  and  down, 
cocking  their  heads  first  this  side,  then  that,  and 
finally  a  man  caught  one  and  discovered  the  wonder- 
ful golden  crown  it  wore.  He  hurried  off  with  it  to 
a  goldsmith  who  gave  him  so  high  a  price  for  it,  that 


THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING     21 

the  man  rushed  back  to  the  pool  and  laid  snares  for 
the  Hoopoes,  who  were  so  taken  up  with  admiring 
themselves  that  they  walked  straight  into  them. 
Then  came  the  saddest  time  for  the  Hoopoes.  Every 
one  began  to  hunt  them.  The  poor  little  birds  could 
not  go  to  the  wells  and  the  pools  for  they  were  thick 
with  nets,  they  could  not  go  into  the  gardens  for 
fowlers  lurked  behind  the  flowers,  they  could  not 
fly  up  onto  the  housetops  for  even  there  the  people 
had  set  traps  for  them.  There  did  not  seem  a  spot 
on  the  earth  where  they  could  rest,  and  at  last,  the 
wretched  little  birds  flew  back  to  the  palace  and 
waited  till  they  beheld  the  great  King  Solomon  com- 
ing along  his  terrace,  listening  to  his  singers  as  they 
performed  in  the  cool  of  the  evening. 

"  Oh,  King,"  said  they,  "  we  have  found  that 
golden  crowns  are  vanity;  we  know  not  what  you 
do  to  keep  yourself  from  being  chased  about  and 
hunted,  and  so  we  have  come  to  ask  you  to  remove 
ours  from  us." 

"  Beloved  Hoopoes,"  said  the  King,  "  a  crown  that 
people  are  expected  to  bow  down  to,  always  sits 
heavy  on  the  head,  and  a  crown  that  excites  envy, 
is  a  net  for  the  feet.  The  only  crown  that  can  be 


22     THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING 

worn  with  comfort  is  the  crown  of  service,  and  that 
crown  should  spring  up  naturally  so  that  no  one 
takes  any  particular  notice  of  it." 

"  Give  us  that  crown  of  service,  oh  wise  king," 
said  the  poor  little  Hoopoes  very  humbly,  for  they 
wanted  nothing  better  now  than  to  be  taken  no 
notice  of. 

"  May  it  shelter  you  even  as  it  sheltered  me,"  said 
the  great  King;  and  on  their  heads,  the  Hoopoes 
beheld  crowns  of  feathers.  But  with  these  crowns 
came  quite  a  new  feeling  to  the  Hoopoes;  they  no 
longer  wished  to  rule  but  to  serve. 

Now  the  Arabian  legend  has  it,  Solomon  had  a 
wonderful  flying  carpet,  where  he  sat  on  a  golden 
throne  with  all  his  attendants  round  him.  Mindful 
of  the  Hoopoes'  usefulness,  he  summoned  all  the 
birds  to  make  a  flying  canopy;  the  Eagle  was  placed 
at  their  head,  but  the  Hoopoes  were  placed  immedi- 
ately over  Solomon  as  he  sat  in  the  centre  of  his 
court.  Thus  shadowed,  Solomon  and  his  friends 
and  servants  would  rise  from  the  ground  and  travel 
across  the  desert  and  over  sea  and  land,  in  cool  and 
comfort. 

One  day,  however,  when  they  were  right  out  in 


King  Solomon  and  the  Hoopoe 


THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING     23 

the  wilderness  and  the  sun  was  beating  down  with  all 
its  might,  a  ray  of  sunlight  flashed  through  and 
struck  the  King's  face.  A  hole  had  appeared  in  the 
canopy. 

Naturally  word  was  passed  to  the  Eagle  who  flew 
up  at  once  to  see  what  had  happened,  and  thus  per- 
ceived one  of  the  Hoopoes  was  absent  from  its  place, 
leaving  a  hole  through  which  the  sunbeam  entered. 
The  Eagle  presented  itself  before  Solomon  there- 
fore, and  told  the  amazing  news;  and  Solomon 
ordered  the  Eagle  to  hasten  off  at  once  and  find  the 
missing  Hoopoe  who  must  have  soared  up  and 
above  the  heads  of  all  the  other  birds  to  make  its 
escape,  for  no  one  had  seen  it  go. 

Off  went  the  Eagle,  rising  up  and  up  until  it  was 
lost  to  sight  in  the  high  skies.  But  though  no  one 
on  earth  could  see  the  Eagle  now,  his  sight  was  very 
keen  and  presently  he  beheld  a  speck  winging  its 
way  across  the  distant  desert  and  swooping  down, 
met  the  missing  Hoopoe. 

"  Where  have  you  been?  "  cried  the  Eagle. 

"  Where  black  marble  cuts  the  air, 
In  great  walls,  all  shining  bare, 
Standing  by  the  waterside: — 


24     THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING 

There  a  great  queen  I  espied. 
Golden  tubs  of  orange  trees 
Stand  against  the  walls,  but  these 
Are  not  half  as  bright  as  she, 
Sitting  in  great  majesty. 
She  is  called  the  Queen  Balkis 
And  her  land  a  garden  is, 
Lying  over  there,  so  far, 
Right  across  Arabia." 

The  Hoopoe  was  so  excited  it  broke  into  verse, 
because  it  could  not  express  its  feelings  any  other 
way ;  but  the  Eagle  was  terribly  angry.  The  Hoopoe 

V 

did  not  seem  to  mind  having  deserted  Solomon; 
there  it  soared  and  circled,  making  up  poetry  about  a 
Queen  as  if  it  had  done  nothing  wrong  at  all! 

"And  in  the  meantime,  what  do  you  think  the 
great  and  wise  King  Solomon  has  been  doing?" 
thundered  the  Eagle,  "  whose  noble  head  you  are 
supposed  to  shield?" 

"  Ah,  spare  me,  I  beg,"  said  the  little  Hoopoe,  "  for 
the  sake  of  no  other  than  our  wise  and  noble  King." 

"Spare  you  for  his  sake?"  said  the  Eagle,  very 
surprised.  'What  mercy  do  you  deserve?  And 
how  can  sparing  you,  help  our  great  King?" 

"  Nevertheless,  I  say,  spare  me  for  his  sake,"  re- 


THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING     25 

peated  the  Hoopoe,  "  and  take  me  back  with  you  as 
quickly  as  you  please,  for  I  have  a  most  urgent  mes- 
sage to  deliver  to  no  other  than  Solomon  himself." 

The  Eagle  was  so  surprised  at  the  Hoopoe's  bold- 
ness, that  he  allowed  it  to  accompany  him  back  to 
the  Flying  Carpet,  and  the  Hoopoe  flew  onto  the 
arm  of  Solomon's  throne. 

"  I  found  it  far  across  the  desert,"  said  the  Eagle. 

But  before  the  Eagle  could  say  another  word,  the 
Hoopoe  broke  in  with 

"  Oh,  great  King,  beyond  your  lands 
A  black  marble  palace  stands 
With  a  wondrous  queen  therein, 
Golden  hair  and  golden  skin. 
Golden  oranges  aglow 
Stand  before  her  in  a  row, 
Brighter  than  gold  fruit  she  is, 
And  her  name  is  Queen  Balkis" 

"And  how  did  you  come  to  visit  her?"  said 
Solomon,  very  sternly.  "  Were  you  not  on  duty,  and 
know  you  not  the  penalty  for  those  who  fly  from 
duty?" 

"  Mercy,"  cried  the  Hoopoe,  "  even  as  you  some 
day  must  ask  for  mercy.  Yes,  great  King,  I  have 


26     THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING 
sinned  and   I  know  full  well  that  I   deserve   dire 
punishment,  but  let  me  tell  you  the  wonders  I  have 
seen  and  give  the  message  that  has  been  given  me, 
ere  you  crush  me  with  your  hand." 

"Why  should  I  hearken  to  you?"  said  Solomon. 

"  Because  no  less  than  the  King  himself  hath  said, 
he  that  hearkeneth  unto  counsel  is  wise,"  returned 
the  Hoopoe.  "  Know  that  I  had  heard  of  the  won- 
derful Queen  of  Sheba  from  a  bird  I  met  at  Mecca; 
and  as  we  flew  across  Arabia,  I  looked  out  and  be- 
held the  land  of  which  so  much  had  been  told  me. 
Nay,  had  not  I  heard  the  Queen  who  lived  there  was 
richer  than  even  the  great  King,  my  master?  So 
I  could  not  resist  flying  down  from  the  canopy  and 
having  a  look.  Has  not  the  great  King  said,  '  The 
desire  accomplished  is  sweet  to  the  soul? ' 

"  Aye,  and  the  way  of  a  fool  is  right  in  his  own 
eyes,"  said  Solomon  sternly. 

"Ah,  great  King,  crush  me  not  till  I  have  given 
the  message,"  cried  the  Hoopoe,  "until  you  have 
heard  the  whole  of  a  story,  you  cannot  judge. 
Hearken  to  the  story  of  my  visit. 

"  Fertile  and  abundant  in  spices  and  gums  is  the 
land  of  Sheba,  but  I  could  notice  little  for  wonder  at 


THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING     27 

the  marble  palace  all  jet  black  which  rose  from  the 
centre  of  the  kingdom.  Yet,  as  I  reached  the  palace, 
I  ceased  to  wonder  thereat,  for  seated  on  a  throne  of 
ebony  was  the  most  beautiful  queen  it  is  possible  to 
imagine,  with  golden  hair  rippling  over  the  steps 
of  the  throne  and  fanned  by  dozens  of  servants, 
into  a  whirling,  golden  cloud.  I  asked  why  they 
were  fanning  her  and  they  said  because  the  Queen's 
crown  sat  so  heavy  on  her  she  could  not  bear  the 
weight  of  her  own  hair.  I  flew  in  amongst  the  per- 
fumed tresses,  fine  as  golden  rain,  and  thus  I  came 
close  to  her  and  heard  her  whispering  to  herself  that 
she  lacked  wisdom  and  understanding  and  knew  not 
how  to  govern  her  kingdom. 

" '  Mighty  Queen  Balkis/  said  I,  '  Hearken  to  the 
counsel  of  a  little  bird  who  is  servant  of  the  wisest 
King  in  the  whole  world.  Well  do  I  know  that 
Solomon  knows  how  to  govern  his  kingdom  wisely, 
for  I  have  worn  a  crown  myself  and  know  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  rule.  But  Solomon  relieved  me  of  my 
crown  of  gold  and  gave  me  this  which  I  wear  in 
comfort.  A  crown  that  every  one  is  expected  to  bow 
down  to,  sits  heavy  on  the  head ;  the  only  crown  that 
can  be  worn  with  ease  is  the  crown  of  service/ 


28     THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING 

" '  Oh,  wise  words,'  said  the  Queen,  '  happy  bird 
to  know  the  great  King  Solomon.  Go  to  your 
master  and  ask  if  his  wisdom  has  taught  him  kind- 
ness, and  if  he  would  deign  to  advise  a  weak  and 
sorrowful  Queen  who  has  scarcely  the  courage  to 
cross  the  desert  and  present  herself  before  the  throne 
of  one  who  has  ruled  hie  kingdom  so  well/ 

"And  now,  what  is  your  answer,  oh,  Solomon? 
Am  I  to  return  and  tell  her  she  may  come  and  learn 
of  your  wisdom,  or  will  you  crush  a  little  bird  in 
your  hand  whose  only  fault  is  that  it  is  too  curious, 
a  fault  by  the  bye,  which  led  me  to  fly  over  your 
head  the  first  time  we  met  one  another." 

"  Be  assured,"  said  Solomon.  "  For  that  word 
spoken  in  season,  your  sin  shall  be  forgiven.  Fly 
back  to  the  Queen,  with  this  signet  ring  and  tell  her 
where  a  little  bird  does  not  fear  to  come,  a  Queen 
may  safely  follow.  If  a  Hoopoe  can  learn  wisdom 
and  put  it  to  such  profit,  shall  not  a  Queen?" 

Then  the  Hoopoe  joyfully  rose  up  from  the  hand 
of  Solomon  and  flew  back  to  Queen  Balkis ;  and  when 
that  wonderful  procession  safely  reached  Solomon's 
palace,  and  the  great  Queen  Balkis  and  the  long, 
long  train  of  camels  laden  with  spices  and  precious 


THE  BIRDS  WHO  BEFRIENDED  A  KING     29 

stones  and  gold  and  ebony  and  ivory,  knelt  before  his 
throne,  the  little  Hoopoe  circled  in  the  air  above 
their  heads,  singing  in  its  glad  shrill  voice  these 
words  that  the  King  so  often  uttered: 

"A  word  fitly  spoken  is  like  apples  of  gold  in 
pictures  of  silver.  As  an  earring  of  gold  and  an 
ornament  of  fine  gold,  so  is.  a  wise  reprover  upon  an 
obedient  ear!" 


THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME 

A  Tale  of  Bulgaria 

ONCE  upon  a  time,  a  young  couple  went  up  on 
a  great  mountain  to  build  a  little  home.  They 
had  no  money  at  all,  and  a  spade  and  an  axe  were 
their  sole  possessions,  but  they  knew  the  world  was 
full  of  good  things  for  those  who  have  courage  and 
kindness,  and  they  set  out  bravely  to  fell  the  trees 
and  dig  the  ground  until  they  had  cleared  a  little 
space  for  a  cottage.  They  lived  on  wild  berries  and 
nuts  until  their  first  crops  rose,  and  by  dint  of 
working,  early  and  late,  they  presently  had  a  fine 
cottage  and  then  a  prosperous  farm.  They  ex- 
changed berries  for  seed,  and  their  crops  for  clothes 
and  furnishings,  until  six  children  had  been  born 
to  them,  each  as  pretty  as  a  forest  flower  and  as 
sturdy.  By  the  time  Peter,  the  eldest,  was  seven, 
the  trees  in  the  orchard  were  laden  with  fruit,  roses 
climbed  over  the  roof  and  the  chimney  of  the  cot- 

31 


32  THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME 

tage,  and  flowers  grew  along  the  garden  path;  and 
the  farmer  and  his  wife  often  turned  their  eyes  to 
the  meadows  on  the  mountain  and  wondered  if  they 
would  ever  have  enough  to  buy  cattle  to  graze 
thereon. 

One  fine  afternoon  in  the  time  of  harvest  the  chil- 
dren were  helping  their  parents  gather  the  cherries 
and  early  apples.  Suddenly  the  mother,  looking  up, 
saw  a  great  eagle  high  overhead  carrying  something, 
and  on  gazing  closely  she  perceived  the  bird  held  a 
baby.  She  gave  a  loud  shriek  and  called  her  husband 
who  rushed  out  with  his  spade  waving  and  calling, 
but  the  bird  still  hovered  overhead.  Just  then,  how- 
ever, the  children  hearing  their  parents'  cries,  popped 
their  heads  out  of  the  trees  to  see  what  was  happen- 
ing. Out  of  the  top  of  the  cherry  tree,  came  Peter 
and  John  and  James,  from  the  apple  tree  peeped 
little  Rozsa  and  Pille,  and  Baby  Blue-eyes  rolling  on 
the  grass,  sat  up  and  stared. 

On  seeing  the  poor  little  baby  high  in  the  air, 
the  children  shrieked  with  their  parents,  and  fright- 
ened at  the  noise,  Baby  Blue-eyes  lifted  her  voice 
in  the  most  ear-piercing  wail  the  family  had  ever 
heard.  Apparently  the  eagle  had  never  heard  any- 


THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME  33 

thing  like  it  either,  for  it  rose  with  a  great  swoop, 
dropping  the  baby  to  the  ground.  Fortunately,  the 
farmer's  wife  held  out  her  apron  in  time  to  save  it, 
and  then  all  the  family  clustered  round  to  behold  a 
most  beautiful  child,  in  the  finest  silken  clothes, 
laughing  and  crowing  and  in  no  way  hurt. 

As  they  stood  admiring  it,  who  should  come  out 
of  the  forest  but  an  elegant  lady,  magnificently 
dressed,  with  jewels  glittering  on  her  outstretched 
hands.  It  was  plain  she  was  the  mother  of  the  little 
one,  and  coming  up,  she  thanked  them  a  thousand 
times  for  rescuing  the  child,  and  begged  to  know 
if  there  was  anything  they  wanted  which  she  could 
provide.  The  farmer  kept  shaking  his  head,  saying 
they  wanted  nothing  from  her  for  they  had  done 
nothing  for  her  beyond  their  simple  duty  to  the 
innocent  baby,  but  little  Peter  piped  out  suddenly 
that  they  were  always  wishing  they  had  a  cow  so 
that  they  might  have  milk  for  breakfast. 

On  hearing  this  the  lady  said  six  pairs  of  cattle 
should  arrive,  a  pair  for  every  child.  "  But,"  she 
added,  "  they  must  always  be  kept  together,  and  be- 
long to  all  of  you.  If  you  sell  them  or  separate  them, 
your  prosperity  will  vanish.  It  was  by  calling  to- 


34  THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME 

gether,  that  you  were  able  to  frighten  the  eagle,  even 
the  baby's  screams  being  needed,  and  it  is  by  living 
and  working  together  that  good  will  come  to  you. 
As  long  as  the  cattle  graze  in  your  fields  your  for- 
tune will  be  secure." 

With  this  the  lady  departed,  and  one  evening  some 
days  after,  when  the  farmer  and  his  wife  were  rest- 
ing on  the  garden  bench,  what  should  they  see  but 
six  magnificent  pairs  of  cattle  coming  up  from  the 
meadows,  with  the  children  driving  them. 

From  that  day,  they  enjoyed  marvellous  prosperity. 
The  farmer  and  his  wife  now  had  absolute  confi- 
dence that  everything  they  sowed  would  bear  fine 
harvests.  They  lost  all  fear  of  the  future  or  mis- 
fortune, planted  boldly,  marketed  their  produce 
wisely,  and  by  the  time  the  children  were  grown 
up,  the  farmer's  estate  extended  over  the  mountain, 
and  every  child  had  married  and  brought  his  bride 
or  her  husband  to  a  snug  cottage,  near  the  parents' 
home.  But  all  ate  together  in  the  parents'  house, 
worked  together,  and  shared  the  produce  equally. 

Soon  each  cottage  was  blessed  with  children,  and 
a  happy  circle  of  little  ones  carried  on  the  good 
work  of  helping  in  the  general  good. 


Six  magnificent  pairs  of  cattle  coming  up  from  the  meadows, 
with  the  children  driving  them. 


THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME  37 

But  at  last  the  farmer  and  his  wife  grew  full  of 
years  and  one  day  the  farmer  called  his  children  to 
his  bedside  and  told  them  he  was  leaving  for  the  long 
journey,  and  made  them  promise  to  continue  in  lov- 
ing fellowship  and  to  hold  all  things  in  common  and 
remember  their  prosperity  depended  on  keeping  the 
six  pairs  of  cattle,  which  had  never  grown  old  or 
feeble,  all  these  years. 

For  some  time  after  the  farmer  had  passed  away, 
the  family  remembered  his  words,  and  shared  the 
harvests  and  the  land  without  thought  of  private 
profit  or  possession.  Peter,  the  eldest,  looked  after 
the  animals,  and  with  his  son,  attended  to  the  mar- 
keting of  the  extra  produce.  John  saw  to  the 
gardens  and  the  fields,  with  his  strapping  boys  and 
girls.  James  and  his  family  cut  down  the  trees,  and 
made  the  furniture  they  needed,  also  the  boots  and 
shoes,  and  further,  painted  gay  flowers  on  the  chairs 
and  chests,  and  were  always  around  with  their  tools 
or  paint  brush,  improving  the  insides  or  outsides  of 
the  homes  when  they  were  not  busy  at  shoemaking. 
Rozsa  and  her  husband  carded  and  spun  and  wove 
the  wool  from  the  sheep,  and  the  flax  from  the 
field,  and  with  their  children,  made  good  strong 


38  THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME 

clothes  for  every  one,  on  which  Rozsa's  little  girls 
and  boys  embroidered  pretty  patterns  and  letters 
so  that  every  one  was  gay  for  Sundays  and  holidays. 

Pille  managed  the  dairy,  and  made  the  best  butter 
and  cheese  ever  tasted,  while  her  children  drove  the 
cows  and  milked  them,  and  her  husband  attended  to 
the  chickens,  the  geese,  the  turkeys,  the  ducks,  and 
all  the  other  fowl  about  the  place.  And  Baby  Blue- 
eyes  married  a  pastry  cook,  and  the  two  of  them 
cooked  the  fine  dinners  they  all  enjoyed  in  the  big 
house,  and  their  little  ones  ran  in  the  woods  and 
found  mushrooms  and  berries  and  herbs. 

Never  was  there  a  happier  set  of  people,  and,  of 
course,  all  were  always  ready  to  lend  a  hand  when 
any  one  wanted  help,  and  glad  to  teach  what  they 
knew,  so  that  in  the  winter  evenings,  one  might  see 
every  one  round  the  fire  having  an  embroidery  lesson, 
or  learning  how  to  make  some  sweetmeat,  or  hearing 
stories  of  the  market  town  where  Peter  went  every 
month  on  their  business;  and  in  the  summer  all  the 
children  would  go  nutting  or  picking  berries,  and 
every  one  would  make  the  hay  or  cut  the  crops 
together. 

There  was  nothing  on  earth  left  for  them  to  desire, 


THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME  39 

and  how  discontent  began  to  grow  up  amongst  them, 
like  some  evil  weed,  none  could  say.  But  grow  it 
certainly  did. 

It  started  when  Peter  began  to  listen  to  the  other 
farmers  boast  of  the  money  each  was  making  and  the 
triumphs  they  were  winning  over  one  another. 
Some  bragged  of  the  fine  things  they  were  doing  for 
their  children,  but  Peter  noticed  they  never  rejoiced 
at  hearing  of  the  fine  things  the  other  farmers  were 
doing  for  their  children.  No,  every  man  seemed 
bent  on  getting  all  he  could  for  himself  and  his,  and 
Peter  was  told  he  was  a  poor  sort  of  father,  to  work 
so  hard  for  other  people's  children,  and  give  his  own 
no  more  than  he  gave  to  the  others. 

Then  John  talked  with  the  neighbours  who  came 
to  see  his  crops  and  his  vegetables,  and  he  found  they 
were  all  boasting  of  the  profit  they  made  from  this 
crop  or  that,  and  were  especially  glad  when  they 
made  more  than  another  had;  and  they  thought 
John  very  foolish  to  let  all  the  family  enjoy  the 
things  he  raised,  without  setting  apart  the  best 
for  his  own  use,  and  his  children's  use. 

Then  James  began  to  get  his  head  turned  by  the 
compliments  strangers  paid  the  family  on  the  pretty 


40  THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME 

things  in  their  homes;  every  one  marvelled  to  hear 
that  James  had  made  everything,  and  several  took 
him  aside  and  said  it  was  absurd  such  a  clever  fellow 
should  be  at  the  beck  and  call  of  a  whole  circle  of 
relations  and  he  ought  to  go  to  the  city  for  his 
children's  sake,  and  make  a  name  for  himself  and  a 
big  fortune  and  give  them  a  good  education  and  see 
that  they  advanced  in  the  world.  Even  Rozsa  and 
her  husband  were  not  left  in  peace,  for  when  the 
family  sallied  out  to  church  or  a  merry-making, 
every  one  remarked  on  the  quality  and  beauty  of 
their  clothes,  and  when  they  heard  they  were  made 
at  home,  cried  that  Rozsa  ought  to  set  up  a  shop 
and  make  for  all  the  grand  people  roundabout.  It 
was  sheer  waste  to  put  such  clever  work  into  the 
clothes  of  her  own  family. 

Pille  and  her  husband  were  approached  by  men 
from  foreign  parts  who  wanted  cargoes  for  their 
ships,  and  thought  the  casks  of  cheese  and  butter 
would  be  all  the  better  for  a  trip  across  the  ocean; 
and  Baby  Blue-eyes  and  her  husband  received  a  visit 
from  no  other  than  the  steward  of  the  King  of  the 
land,  saying  he  had  heard  of  their  skill,  and  desired 
their  services  for  the  State  banquets.  When  Baby 


THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME  41 

Blue-eyes  and  her  husband  explained  this  excellent 
cooking  was  just  for  home  use,  and  the  delicious 
sweetmeats  were  tasted  by  no  one  but  the  children 
of  the  family,  and  the  jellies  and  delicacies  were 
everyday  fare,  and  at  the  service  of  any  sick  neigh- 
bour or  any  one  else  who  was  hungry,  the  steward 
threw  up  his  hands  and  cried  he  had  never  heard 
of  such  wicked  waste.  Such  excellence  should  be 
reserved  for  Royal  banquets. 

So  one  night  when  they  were  gathered  together, 
all  sitting  silent  with  no  more  jokes  or  stories  or 
friendly  help,  Peter  broke  out  with  the  news  that 
he  was  not  going  to  be  a  fool  any  longer,  but  would 
take  his  share  of  the  farm  and  do  the  best  he  could 
for  himself;  and  then  the  others  joined  in,  repeating 
the  compliments  they  had  received  on  their  clever- 
ness, and  every  one  saying  they  were  doing  too  much 
for  the  others,  more  than  their  fair  share,  and  could 
do  very  much  better  for  themselves  and  their 
children. 

So  the  next  thing  was  to  divide  the  property;  and 
you  may  be  sure  each  held  a  very  different  opinion 
from  what  the  others  did,  about  what  he  or  she 
deserved,  and  finally  they  came  to  the  six  pairs  of 


42  THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME 

cattle,  and  found  they  could  not  divide  them 
up  for  there  were  only  twelve  cattle  and  there 
were  no  less  than  forty-three  members  of  the 
family.  Besides  they  could  not  forget  their 
father's  warning  that  if  the  cattle  were  divided 
their  prosperity  would  end.  So  at  last  Peter  pro- 
posed that  they  should  all  drive  the  cattle  from  the 
meadows,  and  the  one  whose  cottage  they  stopped 
nearest  to  should  have  the  lot.  After  much  wrang- 
ling they  agreed  to  this,  and  all  set  out  to  drive 
the  cattle  home.  But  of  course  no  one  would  let  the 
cattle  stop  at  any  one  else's  cottage  and  they  be- 
laboured the  poor  beasts  so  unmercifully  that  at 
last  the  cattle  threw  up  their  heads,  lashed  their 
tails,  and  broke  into  a  frenzied  gallop,  right  over 
the  mountain  top.  Up  flew  the  family  after  them, 
and  found  themselves  standing  on  the  edge  of  a 
great  precipice  with  the  poor  cattle  sinking  in  the 
swamp  far  below. 

The  moans  of  the  poor  creatures  rose  up  to  them, 
and  the  family  at  last  saw  what  they  had  done,  and 
came  home  weeping  and  quarrelling,  each  laying  the 
blame  oh  the  other. 

Then  no  one  cared  to  do  any  work,  for  all  feared 


THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME  43 

that  ill  luck  would  come  on  everything;  and  indeed, 
everything  they  touched  did  seem  to  turn  out  badly. 
For  the  first  time  in  their  lives  they  sat  down  to 
heavy  bread  and  soup  with  too  much  salt  in  it. 
John  forgot  to  water  his  young  cauliflower  plants 
and  found  them  withered  quite  away;  the  butter 
wouldn't  churn  and  the  cheese  wouldn't  set;  and  so 
it  went  from  day  to  day.  The  worst  effect  of  all  was, 
that  the  children  no  longer  played  with  one  another, 
but  threw  stones  and  mud  and  said  hard  words  even 
as  their  parents  did. 

No  one  had  divided  the  lands  yet,  and  no  one 
had  the  heart  to  make  a  move  in  that  direction.  But 
at  last  one  evening  when  they  were  round  the  fire, 
bemoaning  their  sad  fate,  Peter  spoke  out  and  said: 

"  We  have  all  been  to  blame,  every  one  of  us,  for 
we  broke  our  promise  to  our  father  in  the  first  place, 
and  then,  we  stopped  loving  each  other.  Instead 
of  being  grateful  for  all  the  good  that  had  been 
given  us,  we  began  to  want  more  than  we  could  use, 
and  for  the  poor  purpose  of  exulting  over  our  neigh- 
bours, and  even  our  own  brothers.  This  punishment 
is  deserved  and  at  least  we  need  not  be  cowardly 
enough  to  grumble  at  it." 


44  THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME 

These  were  the  first  true  words  the  family  had 
heard  for  many  a  day  and  John  was  ready  enough  to 
agree,  and  so  was  James,  and  finally  Rozsa  and  Pille 
chimed  in  with :  "  Yes,  prosperity  has  gone  from  us 
forever  but  we  can  still  keep  our  word  to  our  father 
and  go  on  living  together.  We  ourselves  will  gladly 
do  our  best  for  every  one  again." 

"Yes,  yes,"  cried  Baby  Blue-eyes,  "though  the 
poor  cattle  are  gone,  I  am  grateful  we  are  all  left. 
I  never  wanted  to  cook  for  the  King's  grand  guests, 
and  we  will  see  that  no  more  spoilt  dishes  come  to 
table.  At  least  we  can  do  our  best  to  help  and 
happify  each  other."  All  joined  in  with  this,  and 
that  night  all  embraced -on  parting  and,  though  all 
were  saddened,  once  more  love  and  kindness  reigned. 

From  that  day  the  family  returned  to  their  own 
ways,  save  that  each  worked  with  added  diligence; 
and  mothers,  and  fathers  too,  were  quick  to  see  that 
the  little  ones  lived  in  friendship  with  each  other  and 
allowed  no  quarrelling  to  spring  up  again. 

Then,  to  their  great  surprise,  instead  of  their 
prosperity  coming  to  an  end,  as  they  expected,  every- 
thing they  did  succeeded  more  and  more;  never  had 
they  had  such  harvests  as  they  beheld  next  year; 


THE  CATTLE  THAT  CAME  45 

never  had  the  children  looked  so  well  and  beautiful; 
never  had  their  homes  looked  so  charming.  They 
asked  one  another  how  this  could  have  happened,  for 
the  words  of  the  lady  and  of  their  father  must  surely 
have  been  true;  until  Peter  suddenly  exclaimed, 
'  Why,  of  course,  we  did  not  separate  the  cattle;  we 
were  saved  in  time,  by  the  poor  creatures'  fate." 

'  Yet  it  was  our  selfishness  that  drove  them  to 
their  doom,"  said  John  very  soberly.  But  at  that 
moment  what  should  they  hear  but  a  great  shout  of 
joy  coming  nearer  and  nearer,  and  rushing  to  the 
door  of  the  house,  in  which  they  were  waiting  for 
the  children  to  come  home  to  dinner,  they  beheld 
the  six  pairs  of  cattle  driven  by  the  children.  How 
the  cattle  had  got  out  of  the  swamp  and  into  the 
meadows  none  ever  knew,  but  returning  from  the 
forest  where  the  little  ones  had  spent  the  morning 
gathering  berries,  the  children  had  beheld  the  cattle 
quietly  grazing,  and  had  driven  them  home  in  joy 
and  triumph,  even  as  their  parents  had  driven  them, 
home,  long  years  ago. 


A  Tale  of  Japan 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  boy  called  Lazy 
Taro  who  lived  all  by  himself  in  a  little  house 
by  the  roadside  in  Japan.  The  house  was  made  with 
an  open  front  and  raised  a  very  little  from  the  road 
so  that  Taro  lay  all  day  on  a  sort  of  covered  plat- 
form, from  which  he  could  watch  every  one  going 
by  and  where  he  could  see  the  rice-fields  and  the 
wild  geese  and  the  river  and  the  distant  mountain. 

He  was  not  ill;  he  was  merely  lazy.  No  one  knew 
where  he  came  from  nor  who  his  parents  were,  nor 
did  he.  He  had  been  found  in  a  basket  tied  to  a 
persimmon  tree,  and  had  been  taken  into  the  home  of 
a  farmer,  but  he  was  such  a  nuisance  with  his  lazy 
habits  that  the  farmer  was  glad  to  be  rid  of  him. 
You  may  wonder  that  he  did  not  turn  Taro  out  into 
the  road  without  a  home,  as  he  would  not  work,  but 

47 


48  LAZY  TARO 

Taro  was  very  handsome  and  very  cheerful  and 
amusing,  so  the  farmer  could  not  help  being  fond 
of  him.  He  gave  Taro  this  little  house  all  to  him- 


He  had  been  found  in  a  basket  tied 
to  a  persimmon  tree. 

self,  just  a  covering  for  his  head,  you  might  say,  and 
left  him  to  watch  the  people  going  by  and  talk  and 
joke  with  them. 

You   will   ask   how   Taro   got   his   food.      Well, 


LAZY  TARO  49 

people  were  kind-hearted  and  used  to  give  him  what 
they  could  spare. 

Taro  soon  grew  to  consider  himself  superior  to 
the  people  who  worked,  in  fact,  he  felt  quite  like 
a  king,  lounging  there  doing  nothing,  with  the 
people  passing  and  coming  up  to  him  to  have  a 
chat.  He  knew  what  every  one  was  doing,  you  may 
be  sure,  how  many  times  they  went  to  the  town,  and 
what  they  brought  back,  and  whom  they  went 
with. 

Taro  was  a  sort  of  newspaper  to  the  country  folk, 
for  they  could  always  find  out  about  their  neighbours 
when  they  talked  to  him.  But,  dear  me,  how  lazy 
Taro  became  as  the  years  went  by  and  he  grew  up 
till  he  was  quite  a  big  boy,  handsome  and  strong 
enough  to  be  of  real  use  in  the  world. 

One  day  the  farmer's  wife  brought  him  some  rice 
dumplings  which  she  had  just  made  and  wanted 
Taro  to  eat  while  they  were  hot.  Taro  thanked  her 
in  his  delightful  way,  for  he  had  practised  thanking 
people  so  much,  he  could  do  it  most  beautifully  now; 
in  fact,  people  were  eager  to  bring  food  to  Taro  so 
that  they  might  have  the  pleasure  of  being  thanked 
by  him.  I  can  tell  you  the  farmer's  wife  went  off, 


I 
50  LAZY  TARO 

feeling  that  Taro  had  done  her  quite  an  honour  in 
accepting  her  dumplings. 

But  Taro  did  not  enjoy  them  hot  after  all;  the 
dumplings  had  been  put  down  on  his  platform  a 
little  distance  from  him,  and  when  he  stretched  out 
his  hand  to  take  them,  he  knocked  the  dish  over  and 
they  rolled  into  the  road. 

Now  on  the  days  when  there  was  no  market  few 
people  passed,  and  for  three  whole  days  Taro  lay 
there  looking  at  the  dumplings  in  the  road,  too  lazy 
to  lean  over  and  pick  them  up. 

On  the  third  day,  he  saw  some  one  coming  at  last. 
It  did  not  matter  to  Taro  that  the  traveller  was 
riding  on  a  fine  horse  and  attended  by  several  serv- 
ants; as  he  came  up,  Taro  bawled  out,  "  Hi,  Hi,  pick 
up  my  dumplings,  please."  You  will  notice  Taro 
said  please;  he  prided  himself  on  the  fact  that  he 
always  took  the  trouble  to  do  that. 

The  gentleman  was  so  surprised  at  being  shouted 
at  like  this,  that  he  actually  pulled  up  his  horse  and, 
telling  a  servant  to  get  the  dumplings  out  of  the 
dust,  came  to  the  side  of  Taro's  little  house. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  you?"  said  he. 

Now  it  seemed  so  natural  to  Taro  to  be  lazy,  that 


LAZY  TARO  51 

he  explained  that  he  had  dropped  the  dumplings 
three  days  ago,  and  no  one  had  come  by  to  pick  them 
up,  in  a  most  injured  voice. 

"  And  my  dear  friend  particularly  wanted  me  to 
eat  them  when  they  were  hot,"  said  Taro. 

"  Why  did  you  not  pick  them  up  yourself?  "  asked 
the  gentleman,  who  was  no  other  than  the  Governor 
of  the  Province. 

"  Oh,  well,  you  see,  it  is  such  a  trouble  to  move," 
said  Taro,  as  if  that  were  a  perfectly  good  excuse. 
"  I'd  much  rather  not  have  the  dumplings  than 
move.  But  as  you  are  in  the  road  and  actually 
passing  my  dumplings,  I  thought  it  would  be  no 
trouble  for  you  to  stop  and  pick  them  up." 

"  Well,  you  certainly  are  the  laziest  fellow  I  have 
ever  met  in  my  life,"  said  the  Governor.  "  Do  you 
intend  to  spend  all  your  life,  lying  there?" 

"  One  day  is  enough  to  live  at  a  time,"  said  Taro 
easily.  "  The  tree  yonder  never  moves  and  is  con- 
tented enough." 

"  Yes,  but  the  tree  is  bearing  fruit,  and  giving 
shade  to  the  wayfarers  and  shelter  to  the  birds  in  its 
boughs,"  said  the  Governor.  '  You  are  encumbering 
the  ground  with  your  idle  body;  see,  how  you  have 


52  LAZY  TARO 

hindered  us.  Is  not  our  time  as  valuable  as  yours, 
pray,  that  we  should  have  to  stop  to  wait  on  you? 
Come,  you  look  a  good-natured  fellow,  and  I  can  see 
you  have  plenty  of  strength  and  good  sense.  I  will 
give  you  that  rice-field  yonder  and  start  you  in  a 
useful  activity." 

"  Oh,  dear,  no,"  said  Taro.  "  That  is  far  too  big 
a  gift.  The  only  rice  I  want  is  rice  cooked  up  into 
dumplings  or  broth.  I  certainly  don't  want  a  field 
to  take  care  of,  through  winter  and  summer." 

'  Well,  maybe  the  work  would  be  hard,  as  you  are 
used  to  lying  still  all  day,"  said  the  Governor.  "  I 
will  give  you  some  money  to  start  a  shop — " 

"  Dear,  dear,  no ! "  said  Taro  very  firmly.  "  A 
business  of  my  own  would  be  much  too  much 
trouble.  If  you  will  just  hand  me  my  dumplings, 
that  is  all  I  desire,  thank  you  very  much  all  the 
same." 

The  Governor  could  not  help  smiling  at  Taro's 
coolness  and  leaving  him  with  his  dumplings,  he 
rode  on. 

Of  course  Taro  told  this  story  to  every  one, 
pointing  out  what  a  fool  a  man  was  to  be  a  Governor 
and  have  to  go  riding  about  the  country  wherever 


LAZY  TARO  53 

the  Emperor  sent  him.  Every  one  thought  Taro 
more  wonderful  than  ever,  when  they  heard  how  the 
Governor  himself  had  stopped  to  wait  on  him  and 
Taro  became  more  and  more  conceited  until  he 
thought  himself  better  than  any  king  in  the  world. 

But  one  day  when  there  was  a  group  of  people 
around  his  platform,  begging  him  to  accept  their 
dainties,  an  old  peasant  came  along  the  road.  He 
had  been  fishing  in  the  river  and  carried  his  nets 
on  his  back  and  his  catch  of  fish  dangled  from  his 
hand.  Now  Taro  was  fond  of  fish,  and  when  he 
saw  the  peasant,  he  said  to  one  of  his  friends,  "  Now 
you  are  here,  you  can  build  me  a  little  fire  and  roast 
one  of  those  fine  fishes  for  me."  Then,  raising  his 
voice,  Taro  called  out  in  his  politest  tones, 
"  Honoured  Sir,  what  a  wonderful  fisherman  you  are. 
I  have  never  seen  such  a  fine  catch  come  up  from 
the  river.  Pray,  let  me  taste  a  sample  of  your  skill." 

"  My  fish  is  ordered  in  the  town,"  said  the  fisher- 
man quietly.  '  Why  do  you  not  go  down  to  the  river 
yourself  and  catch  some,  if  you  are  fond  of  fish?  " 

"  Because  I  do  not  care  to  run  hither  and  thither 
as  other  men  do,"  said  Taro,  as  if  he  were  very 
superior  because  of  this.  "  I  have  quite  enough  to 


54  LAZY  TARO 

look  at  here,  the  river  is  no  more  beautiful  when 
one  is  on  its  shore  than  when  one  sees  it  from  across 
the  rice-field." 

"  You  remind  me  of  the  frog  who  went  to  Kyoto," 
said  the  fisherman,  and  as  Taro  and  every  one 
begged  for  the  story,  the  fisherman  spoke  as  follows : 

"  A  frog  lived  in  a  well  by  the  city  of  Kyoto,  and 
another  frog  in  a  lotus  pond  at  Osaka  by  the  sea. 
Now  the  Kyoto  frog  used  to  listen  to  the  people  who 
came  to  draw  the  water  from  the  well,  and  he  often 
heard  them  use  this  proverb :  '  The  frog  in  the 
well  knows  not  the  great  ocean.'  At  last  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  go  to  Osaka  and  see  the  ocean  for 
himself.  At  this  same  time,  the  frog  at  Osaka,  heard 
the  monks  as  they  walked  in  the  garden,  say,  '  The 
lion's  cub  is  thrown  into  the  valley,'  and  at  last  he 
too  made  up  his  mind  to  hop  out  of  his  pond,  and 
travel  to  Kyoto,  to  show  he  was  as  great  as  a  lion's 
cub. 

The  two  frogs,  therefore,  started  their  journeys, 
the  one  to  Kyoto,  the  other  to  Osaka.  But  by  the 
time  they  reached  the  hill  midway  between  their 
homes,  each  was  very  sore  and  stiff,  for  as  you  know, 
a  frog  squats  and  squawks  all  day  and  is  not  used 


LAZY  TARO  55 

to  journeying  on  the  road  like  men.  They  sympa- 
thised with  each  other,  and  then  they  hit  on  the 
bright  notion  of  standing  up  on  their  hind  legs,  and 
having  a  look  at  their  destinations,  instead  of  trou- 
bling to  go  all  the  way  thither.  So  the  Kyoto  frog 
stood  up  to  look  at  Osaka  and  the  Osaka  frog  to 
look  at  Kyoto.  But  as  you  all  know,  the  eyes  of  a 
frog  are  set  in  the  back  of  his  head,  and  when  they 
stood  up,  they  looked  backwards,  and  the  Kyoto 
frog  looked  at  Kyoto  and  the  Osaka  frog  looked  at 
Osaka. 

'  Therefore  each  said  the  place  he  was  bound  for 
was  exactly  like  his  own  home  and  not  worth 
travelling  to  see,  and  the  Kyoto  frog  returned  to  his 
admiring  friends  and  told  them  the  ocean  at  Osaka 
was  no  bigger  than  his  well  at  Kyoto,  and  the  Osaka 
frog  returned  home  and  told  his  admiring  friends 
that  the  city  of  Kyoto  was  no  bigger  than  his  monas- 
tery. They  remained,  therefore,  for  the  rest  of 
their  lives  in  their  own  homes,  thoroughly  satisfied 
with  themselves  and  with  their  knowledge  of  the 
world." 

With  this,  the  fisherman  went  his  way,  leaving 
Taro  very  angry  and  Taro's  friends  sniggering  to 


56  LAZY  TARO 

one  another,  for  this  time  the  laugh  was  decidedly 
against  Taro. 

Now  from  that  day  Taro  began  to  be  not  quite 
so  pleased  with  himself;  for  one  thing  every  one 
who  passed,  took  to  calling  him  "  Froggy."  One 
day  a  string  of  riders  came  along  the  road,  carrying 
a  proclamation  and  when  they  saw  Taro  they 
stopped  and  told  him  the  Prince  of  the  country 
needed  some  strong,  young  men  to  serve  him  and 
Taro  should  offer  his  services.  Of  course  Taro 
laughed  very  loudly  at  the  idea  of  his  going  as  a 
servant  to  the  palace  like  any  one  else,  but  that 
night,  he  could  not  sleep,  and,  as  he  lay  watching 
the  rice-fields  and  the  river  in  the  moonlight,  where 
even  at  this  late  hour,  people  were  working,  it  sud- 
denly occurred  to  him  how  kind  every  one  had  been 
in  bringing  him  food.  And  then  he  thought  how 
little  he  had  done  for  any  one,  and  then  he  longed 
and  longed  to  do  something  for  somebody  else. 

Then  he  remembered  that  the  Prince's  servants 
had  said  Taro  was  just  the  fellow  the  Prince  needed 
in  his  palace,  and  actually  lazy  Taro  jumped  up, 
and  just  as  he  was,  in  his  old  rags,  hurried  as  quickly 
as  he  could  down  the  road  and  journeyed  on  and  on 


LAZY  TARO  57 

until  he  reached  the  palace  and  offered  himself  for 
service  like  any  other  poor  boy,  at  the  back  door. 
Of  course  Taro  did  not  know  how  to  do  anything 
useful  and  all  they  could  find  for  him  to  do,  was  to 
sweep  out  the  rooms  early  in  the  morning  before 
any  one  was  down. 

But  the  funny  thing  was,  when  Taro  began  to 
work,  he  found  he  just  loved  working.  It  was  per- 
fectly glorious  to  see  the  dust  fly  before  his  broom, 
and  to  leave  the  palace  clean  and  shining  after  he 
had  passed  through.  He  could  not  bear  to  stop  work 
when  every  one  arose,  and  so  begged  that  he  might 
sweep  the  garden  paths  during  the  day,  which  he 
was  allowed  to  do.  Thus  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  wonderful  flowers  that  grew  in  the  palace 
garden,  and  from  brushing  the  paths,  he  began  to 
see  numberless  little  kindnesses  he  might  do  for  the 
flowers.  He  removed  grubs  that  were  spoiling  the 
tender  leaves,  tied  up  broken  branches,  removed 
seedpods  that  crowded  too  thickly  on  the  growing 
flowers,  and  presently  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
head-gardener.  He  took  Taro  to  work  in  the  garden 
and  taught  him  much. 

And  then  quite  suddenly,  just  as  Taro  was  feeling 


The   moon  was  shining 


LAZY  TARO 

he  was  really  of  some  use 
in  the  world,  and  when  he 
was  so  happy  in  his  work 
he  felt  he  could  never  be 
happier,  the  Prince  sent 
word  that  Taro  was  to 
guard  the  gate  that  looked 
on  the  city  street. 

So  Taro  was  taken  away 
from  his  beloved  flowers 
and  active  life,  and  put  to 
stand  day  and  night,  alone 
and  motionless  before  the 
palace  gate.  Oh,  how  he 
missed  his  flowers!  And 
how  he  hated  standing 
still,  after  his  busy  la- 
bours. But  he  had  come 
to  serve  the  Prince  and  of 
course  he  never  dreamed 
of  disobeying. 

One  night  when  he  was 


pale    and   fair    over 
palace  roof. 


the    on  guard,   and   the  moon 
was  shining  pale  and  fair 


LAZY  TARO  59 

over  the  palace  roof,  Taro  thought  of  that  night 
when  he  had  lain  awake  thinking  of  the  people  who 
had  passed  and  told  him  of  the  Prince's  proclama- 
tion, and  like  a  flash,  he  saw  his  little  house  with  the 
sides  of  matting,  and  the  silent  pine  tree  guarding  it, 
and  a  poem  burst  from  his  heart. 

"Autumn's  full  moon: 
Lo,  the  shadow  of  a  pine-tree 
Upon  the  mats." 

And  that  little  poem  said  all  he  felt  about  that 
wonderful  still  night  when  the  silent  pine  tree  had 
cast  its  interlacing  tracery  upon  the  walls  of  his 
silent  house. 

Then  poems  began  to  spring  out  of  his  heart  like 
flowers;  he  thought  of  the  day  when  he  swept  the 
garden  paths  in  all  their  wintry  splendour,  and  this 
poem  came: 

"  To-day,  at  last  to-day, 
I  grew  to  wish  to  raise 
The  chrysanthemum  flowers." 

And  then  he  thought  of  another: 

"  Yellow  chrysanthemum,  white  chrysanthemum, 
Why,  the  other  names  for  me, 
Are  of  no  use." 


60  LAZY  TARO 

And  as  the  dawn  rose,  and  the  sun  flashed  out,  he 

cried, 

"Ah,  how  sublime — 
The  green  leaves,  the  young  leaves, 
In  the  light  of  the  sun." 

Soon  the  people  began  to  gather  round  Taro  as  he 
stood  at  the  gate,  for  the  Japanese  love  poetry,  and 


Taro  presented  to  him  a  beautiful 
boat,  with  a  pair  of  cormorants. 


specially  poems  which  are  easy  to  understand  like 
Taro's  were.  He  soon  became  a  great  popular  poet, 
and  one  day  the  Prince  sent  for  him  and  asked  him 
to  repeat  some  of  his  poems,  which  Taro  did.  The 
Prince  was  so  pleased  he  took  Taro  to  see  the  Em- 
peror, who  became  very  interested  when  he  heard 


LAZY  TARO  61 

the  story  of  Taro's  life  and  ordered  his  Minister  to 
make  inquires  about  Taro's  parentage. 

Thus  it  was  discovered  that  Taro  was  really  the 
son  of  the  Prince;  he  had  been  stolen  from  his 
father's  garden  when  he  was  a  tiny  baby,  and  cruelly 
abandoned.  Taro  was  raised  to  high  honour  and 
was  made  Governor  of  the  province  in  which  he  had 
lived,  because  the  Emperor  thought  no  one  would 
understand  those  people  better  than  Taro. 

Taro  became  a  very  hard-working  person  now, 
sparing  himself  no  trouble  in  doing  things  for  the 
neighbourhood.  The  first  person  he  went  to  see  was 
the  old  fisherman,  to  whom  Taro  presented  a  beauti- 
ful boat  with  a  pair  of  cormorants,  to  aid  the  fisher- 
man in  his  task. 

But  you  will  notice  that  as  long  as  Taro  remained 
lazy,  and  useless,  nobody  troubled  to  find  out  any- 
thing about  him.  It  was  only  when  he  became  of 
real  value  that  the  truth  was  revealed  that  he  was 
the  son  of  a  Prince  and  he  was  restored  to  his 
father's  home. 


THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE 

A  Tale  of  Greece 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  King  who  had 
three  sons.  Now,  one  day  he  had  a  fancy  for 
a  dish  prepared  with  the  fat  of  a  male  hare,  and  sent 
his  sons  to  hunt  in  the  woods.  The  older  brothers 
found  nothing,  but  when  they  were  returning  home 
they  met  the  youngest  brother  carrying  two  male 
hares.  At  this  they  were  very  angry,  for  they  had 
refused  to  let  him  come  with  them  on  the  chase,  as 
he  was  inexperienced  and  they  did  not  want  him 
to  learn  anything  from  them  and  capture  the  prize. 
Yet  now  he  had  caught  these  two  fine  hares  all  by 
himself,  while  they  had  nothing. 

So  they  loitered  behind  together,  planning  how 
they  could  spoil  his  triumph  and  keep  their  father's 
favour  for  themselves. 

Presently  they  came  to  a  well  surrounded  with 
marble  slabs  over  which  the  water  trickled.  It  was 

63 


64  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE 

a  very  old  well,  in  a  dark  part  of  the  forest,  and  few 
people  used  it.  But  the  water  gurgled  and  splashed 
in  a  refreshing  way,  and  the  eldest  brother  stopped 
when  he  saw  it  and  proposed  they  should  have  a 
drink. 

"  Let  us  drink,  however,  in  order  of  our  age,"  said 
he  cunningly.  "  I  will  drink  first,  then  the  next  in 
age,  and  then  the  youngest."  He  lay  down  to 
drink,  however,  leaning  far  over  the  well,  and 
calling  out  how  delicious  the  water  was  and  how 
easy  it  was  to  obtain  a  good  draught  this  way; 
and  the  second  brother  followed  his  example,  also 
calling  out  how  cool  and  delicious  the  water  was,  and 
how  convenient  it  was  to  drink  when  one  leaned 
right  over.  So  of  course  when  the  youngest  brother 
knelt  down,  he  stretched  himself  flat  on  the  stones 
and  imitated  the  way  they  had  leaned  over  the  water. 
This  was  what  the  elder  brothers  wished,  and  taking 
his  feet  they  pushed  him  right  into  the  well. 

Then  they  took  the  two  hares  and  went  off  to 
their  father,  weeping  and  wailing  and  pretending  to 
be  terribly  sorry  they  had  lost  their  brother.  They 
told  their  father  he  had  been  carried  off  by  a  band 
of  robbers,  and  pretended  they  had  been  so  busy 


Placing  its  beak  against  his  arm,  restored  first  one  muscle  and 

then  the  other. 


THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE  67 

chasing  the  hares  that  they  had  been  separated  from 
him  and  had  not  been  able  to  overtake  the  robbers 
and  rescue  their  brother  in  time. 

The  King  was  so  distressed  to  hear  that  his  best- 
loved  son  was  lost  that  he  took  no  notice  of  their 
hares;  instead  of  feasting,  he  and  the  Queen  put  on 
mourning  and  there  was  great  sadness  throughout 
the  kingdom. 

But  the  youngest  Prince  whom  they  had  thrown 
into  the  well,  was  not  really  drowned  or  lost.  He 
continued  to  fall  and  fall  for  ever  so  long  until 
instead  of  descending  with  a  bump  at  the  bottom,  he 
stepped  gently  onto  dry  land,  and  found  himself  in 
what  the  Macedonians  call  the  Nether  World. 

It  was  quite  dark,  but  after  he  had  walked  a  little 
way,  he  began  to  get  used  to  the  gloom  and  presently 
he  saw  a  light  in  the  distance  and,  coming  up,  beheld 
a  cottage.  He  looked  through  the  window  and  saw 
an  old  woman  kneading  dough.  She  had  no  water, 
but  was  weeping  bitterly  and  kneaded  the  dough 
with  her  tears.  The  Prince  felt  very  sorry  for  her 
and  tapped  at  the  door.  When  she  opened  it  he 
asked  if  he  might  not  fetch  some  water  for  her  so 
that  she  might  mix  her  dough.  "  For,"  said  the 


68  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE 

Prince,  "  I  am  very  hungry  and  should  be  grateful 
for  a  piece  of  hot  bread." 

But  the  old  woman  told  him  they  had  no  water 
at  all.  There  was  a  well,  certainly,  but  it  was 
guarded  by  a  dragon.  Every  now  and  then  it  de- 
manded a  maiden,  which  had  to  be  given  it  for  its 
dinner,  before  it  would  allow  the  countryside  to  have 
any  of  the  water  it  so  selfishly  and  cruelly  guarded.1 
The  old  woman  was  weeping  because  her  only 
daughter  was  now  bound  to  a  tree  waiting  for  the 
dragon  to  come. 

'  Well,  I  am  sorely  in  need  of  food,"  said  the 
Prince,  "  but  if  you  will  put  that  little  cake  on  the 
ashes  and  give  me  a  piece  when  it  is  baked,  I  will 
willingly  rescue  your  daughter." 

'  That  is  impossible,"  said  the  old  woman.  "  The 
King  and  his  army  have  been  trying  to  overcome  the 
dragon  for  years  without  any  success.  How  could 
a  boy  like  you  conquer  it?" 

At  this  moment,  they  heard  a  cry,  "  Kra  kra," 
from  the  corner  of  the  room,  and  turning  round,  the 
Prince  beheld  a  great  golden  eagle  standing  in  the 
corner  of  the  cottage.  It  flapped  its  wings  and 
uttered  the  strange  sound  again,  as  if  to  encourage 


THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE  69 

the  Prince.  He  asked  what  such  a  beautiful  great 
bird  was  doing,  standing  in  a  corner  of  a  cottage, 
and  the  old  woman  told  him  her  husband  had  left 
her  this  bird  to  take  care  of,  and  for  a  hundred 
years  she  had  fed  it  and  tended  it  until  it  had  grown 
to  be  the  powerful  bird  the  Prince  beheld.  The  next 
moment,  another  snorting  sound  came  from  another 
dark  corner,  and  the  Prince  to  his  surprise  beheld  a 
buffalo  standing  in  the  corner  behind  the  door,  and 
heard  that  the  husband  had  left  the  buffalo  to  the 
old  woman  and  she  had  tended  and  fed  it  also  for 
a  hundred  years. 

'  Well,  you  are  not  without  friends  then,"  said  the 
Prince. 

"  But  now  I  have  nothing  to  feed  them  with,"  said 
the  old  woman.  "  This  cake  is  the  last  bit  of  food  I 
have,  for  as  we  have  no  water,  no  crops  will  grow. 
However,  though  I  do  not  believe  you  can  help  me 
or  my  daughter,  I  will  give  you  half  of  it,  for  I 
would  not  send  a  stranger  away,  unfed." 

With  this  the  old  woman  drew  the  cake  from  the 
embers  and  gave  the  Prince  a  good  half,  and  he 
ate  and  felt  much  refreshed. 

Then  he  went  off  to  find  the  tree  where  Maruda, 


70  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE 

the  old  woman's  daughter,  was  waiting  for  the 
dragon.  She  could  not  believe  her  eyes  when  the 
Prince  came  up  to  her  and  cut  her  bonds.  She  told 
him  that  she  was  quite  ready  to  be  sacrificed  so  that 
her  mother  and  all  the  starving  people  might  have 
water  for  their  crops,  but  the  Prince  assured  her  that 
it  would  be  the  dragon  who  would  be  sacrificed  this 
time,  and  she  was  to  go  to  a  little  hill  where  she 
could  stay  in, safety  and  watch  the  death  of  the 
dragon. 

Just  then,  a  terrible  roar  was  heard,  increasing  in 
volume  until  the  whole  earth  seemed  to  shake  .with 
the  din.  Maruda  made  haste  to  get  to  the  hill,  and 
no  sooner  was  she  safe  at  the  top,  than  the  dragon 
appeared  rising  at  a  great  rate  through  the  water  of 
the  well  which  the  tree  shaded.  But  the  Prince  was 
ready  with  his  trusty  sword,  and  before  the  dragon 
could  pop  its  head  out,  the  Prince  was  at  the  well, 
and  as  the  dragon  leaped  out  the  Prince  cut  him  in 
half,  casting  each  part  of  the  dragon  clear  away  from 
the  well  so  that  the  water  should  be  unspoiled. 

Directly  the  dragon  was  slain,  the  water  gushed 
and  gurgled  and  overflowed  from  the  well,  and  a 
great  sound  of  rising  water  was  heard  everywhere, 


THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE  71 

and  every  fountain  and  cistern  and  basin  and  pond 
and  brook  became  full  of  sweet,  clear  water,  enough 
for  all. 

The  King  and  his  councillors  and  army  were  all 
assembled  on  the  city  walls,  for  news  had  come  that 
the  Prince  was  to  fight  the  dragon  and  all  expected 
the  presumptuous  stranger  to  be  slain.  But  instead 
of  being  slain,  there  was  the  Prince  walking  off  with 
Maruda,  and  the  dragon  in  two  pieces,  and  the  water 
at  last  let  free  for  every  one.  Instead  of  being 
pleased,  as  you  might  have  expected,  the  King  and 

his  councillors  and  his  army  were  actually  annoyed 

/» 

that  a  stranger  should  have  done  what  they  could 
not  do;  therefore  with  one  accord  they  cried,  "Let 
us  turn  this  presumptuous  madman  out  of  the 
country,"  and  started  off  to  the  old  woman's  cottage 
where  the  Prince  had  taken  Maruda. 

The  Prince  was  there,  of  course,  telling  the  old 
woman  that  no  thanks  were  due  to  him. 

"  If  you  had  not  come  to  my  assistance  with  that 
cake  of  bread,"  said  he,  "  I  should  never  have  had  the 
strength  to  slay  the  dragon,  so  the  credit  is  really 
yours." 

Just  at  that  moment  they  heard  the  angry  noise 


72  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE 

of  people  coming  on  an  evil  errand,  and  look- 
ing out  of  the  window,  they  saw  this  great  crowd 
of  the  King,  his  councillors  and  army,  advancing 
over  the  plain,  all  with  their  swords  held  out, 
ready  to  slay  the  Prince.  Then  the  old  woman  and 
Maruda  began  to  weep  with  fear,  but  the  Prince 
turned  to  the  eagle  and  said,  "  Can  you  not  help 
us,  now  your  mistress  who  has  fed  you  all  these 
years  is  in  need?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  eagle.  "  You  shall  all  get  on 
my  back  and  I  will  carry  you  out  of  the  Nether 
World;  but  it  will  be  a  long,  long  journey  and  we 
shall  need  food  and  water." 

"  Take  me,"  said  the  buffalo,  "  I  will  readily  give 
myself  for  this  escape.  My  hide  will  form  a  fine 
bag  for  the  water  and  my  flesh  will  give  a-plenty  of 
meat." 

Hence,  in  a  remarkably  short  time,  provision  for 
their  journey  was  obtained  and  the  little  party 
mounted  on  the  back  of  the  great  eagle  who  flew 
swiftly  up  into  the  air  just  as  the  enraged  crowd 
arrived  at  the  cottage. 

The  eagle  flew  for  many  days,  up  and  up  through 
the  darkness  and  then  across  the  great  clouds  of  mist 


THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE  73 

which  finally  turned  into  sea.  They  drank  from  the 
water  in  the  buffalo  hide  and  ate  the  buffalo  meat, 
but  at  last  their  store  was  exhausted  and  the  eagle 
began  to  fly  more  slowly. 

"  Now  he  is  of  the  first  importance,"  said  the 
Prince,  "and  you  come  next;  I  must  be  the  first  to 
suffer."  Saying  this  he  gave  his  arm  to  the  eagle 
and  told  him  to  eat  from  it;  and  in  this  way  the 
eagle  was  enabled  to  continue  the  journey  until  it 
landed  them  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  overlooking 
the  Prince's  home. 

How  glorious  it  was  to  see  the  light  of  the  sun 
again  and  to  look  down  upon  the  castle  of  his  father. 
But  before  the  Prince  went  down  the  mountain  side 
the  eagle  gave  him  a  golden  feather  from  its  tail  and 
told  him  if  the  Prince  were  in  need  of  the  eagle's 
help  again,  the  Prince  was  to  burn  the  feather,  and 
the  eagle  would  smell  the  scent  and  come. 

Off  went  the  Prince,  therefore,  with  the  old 
woman  and  Maruda,  and  wretchedly  thin  and  tat- 
tered he  looked,  with  his  poor  arms  torn  where  he 
had  given  his  flesh  to  the  eagle.  But  he  had  a  cheer- 
ful courage  still  and  consoled  the  old  woman  and 
Maruda  for  all  that  they  had  suffered,  by  saying 


74  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE 

what  a  hearty  welcome  awaited  all  in  the  castle,  and 
how  overjoyed  his  father  and  mother  would  be  to 
see  him  again. 

But  when  he  came  up  to  the  terrace  steps  with 
his  companions,  no  one  knew  him.  Instead,  all 
stared  with  cold  eyes  at  his  tattered  clothes  and 
wounded  arms,  and  when  he  came  into  the  hall  where 
his  father  and  mother  sat  and  went  forward,  he  saw 
his  own  father  did  not  recognise  him,  either. 

When  he  told  his  story,  the  King  shook  his  head 
and  said  his  son  had  disappeared  years  ago  and  the 
Prince  must  be  an  impostor.  Wretched  was  the 
Prince,  for  it  seemed  as  if  he  would  be  turned  out 
of  his  own  home;  when  suddenly  there  was  a  stir 
among  the  courtiers  and  his  mother  the  Queen 
passed  between  them.  She  had  heard  that  a  strange 
man  had  come  to  the  palace  claiming  to  be  the  miss- 
ing Prince,  and  directly  she  set  eyes  on  the  Prince, 
for  all  his  rags  and  wounds  and  thinness,  she  cried 
out,  "This  is  our  son  whom  we  thought  lost,"  and 
rushed  forward  to  weep  over  him  and  embrace  him. 

The  heart  of  a  mother  is  never  mistaken.  The 
Prince's  sad  plight  which  blinded  his  father,  the 
King,  who  remembered  a  dashing,  handsome  young 


"  This  is  our  son  whom  we  thought  lost,"  cried  his  mother. 


THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE  77 

prince,  could  not  hide  her  child  from  his  mother. 

She  begged  the  King  to  hear  his  story,  but  the 
King  could  not  believe  this  beggar  in  tatters  could  be 
his  son;  he  sent  for  his  other  two  sons  to  hear  the 
story  and  they  said  they  had  never  heard  of  such  a 
place  as  the  Nether  World,  nor  of  the  creature  the 
Prince  called  a  dragon,  and  if  it  had  been  as  large 
as  the  Prince  described,  they  were  sure  the  Prince 
could  never  have  slain  it. 

At  this,  however,  the  Prince  remembered  his 
feather,  and  plucking  it  from  his  bosom,  threw  it  on 
the  pan  of  charcoal  which  burned  beside  the  throne. 
Instantly  a  cloud  of  most  delicious  perfume  ascended 
and  rolled  out  through  the  doorway  across  the 
terrace  toward  the  mountain  where  the  eagle  lived. 

Then  all  present  saw  what  looked  to  be  a  golden 
cloud  rise  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  hover 
in  the  sky,  coming  nearer  and  nearer,  until  with  a 
great  rush  the  Golden  Eagle  came  down  to  the 
terrace.  But  instead  of  halting,  it  flew  into  the  hall 
to  the  Prince,  and  placing  its  beak  against  his  arm 
restored  first  one  muscle  and  then  the  other,  so  that 
the  Prince  held  out  his  arms  whole  and  strong. 

This  proved  without  question  that  his  story  was 


y8  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  EAGLE 

true,  and  the  King  embraced  his  son  and  begged  his 
other  sons  to  be  taken  away  and  imprisoned  for 
having  thrust  their  brother  down  the  well.  But  the 
Prince  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  King  and  begged 
their  forgiveness. 

'  The  ill  they  would  have  done  me  has  turned  out 
well  for  many,"  said  he.  "  Had  they  not  thrust  me 
down  the  well,  I  could  never  have  restored  the 
water  to  all  those  poor,  starving  people,  and  rescued 
Maruda  and  brought  her  again  to  her  mother.  Now 
I  have  only  to  ask  that  you  will  grant  Maruda  and 
her  mother  a  home  in  your  kingdom  where  they 
may  live  in  peace  and  safety;  and  so  that  they  may 
be  sure  of  plenty  of  water,  I  ask  that  a  cottage  may 
be  built  beside  the  well  in  the  forest. 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

\ 
A  Tale  of  Hungary 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  shepherd  who 
lived  on  a  mountain  in  a  wild  and  lonely  part 
of  Hungary.  Wild  dogs,  foxes,  and  wolves  abounded 
in  the  deep  ravines  filled  with  dark  forests,  and 
among  the  crags  of  the  mountain  peaks,  and  the 
shepherd  had  to  be  forever  on  the  watch  whilst  his 
sheep  were  grazing.  He  had  several  fine  sheep-dogs 
to  aid  him  in  his  work,  and  when  the  lambs  strayed 
down  the  mountain  side,  or  frisked  away  to  play 
round  the  rocky  boulders,  the  faithful  sheep-dogs 
would  follow  and  drive  them  back  to  the  sheepfold. 

This  sheepfold  was  built  of  stones,  and  no  wolves 
could  enter;  it  stood  near  the  shepherd's  little  hut, 
so  that  he  could  easily  go  back  and  fro  on  a  dark 
night  when  a  sick  lamb  needed  attention.  It  would 
have  been  a  lonely  life  for  some  people,  but  the 
shepherd  found  his  dogs  good  companions ;  he  loved 

79 


8o  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

his  sheep  and  was  always  busy  looking  after  them; 
and  when  the  sheep  were  grazing  quietly,  he  would 
take  out  his  flute,  cut  from  a  willow  in  the  plains 
below,  and  play  pretty  melodies  which  chimed  with 
the  roar  of  the  mountain  springs  and  torrents. 
Several  waterfalls  fell  from  the  rocks,  plunging  down 
through  the  forests  to  the  streams  below,  and  so  the 
shepherd  was  always  sure  of  delicious  water  for 
his  flock  and  himself.  For  food,  he  gathered  wild 
strawberries  which  grew  in  abundance;  grew  corn 
in  a  little  clearing  by  his  hut;  and  kept  a  few  hens 
so  that  there  was  always  a  new  laid  egg  for  his 
breakfast.  Then  he  had  a  little  flock  of  goats  from 
whom  he  received  excellent  milk,  which  he  made 
into  cheese.  His  life  was  very  pleasant  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  winter  did  not  lack  occupation,  for  he  was 
fond  of  carving  and  painting,  and  his  clever  hands 
decorated  everything  in  his  little  hut  till  it  looked 
as  gay  as  a  posy  of  mountain  flowers. 

One  summer  day,  Bebeck  was  busy  dyeing  yarn 
with  juice  pressed  from  various  herbs  and  flowers; 
he  had  his  pot  boiling  on  a  fire  of  twigs,  and  was 
stirring  and  whistling  and  thinking  of  the  beautiful 
coat  he  would  embroider  in  the  coming  winter  eve- 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  81 

nings,  when  he  heard  an  old  ewe  baa-ing  in  a  piteous 
manner.  The  dogs  were  running  around  with  their 
noses  to  the  ground  and  all  the  sheep  were  collecting 
as  if  something  were  the  matter.  So  the  shepherd 
had  to  scatter  his  fire,  and  go  to  see  what  was  doing. 
As  he  got  to  his  troubled  flock,  two  of  the  dogs 
went  off  at  a  great  pace,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
he  noticed  a  lamb  was  missing.  So  off  went  the 
shepherd  after  his  faithful  sheep-dogs.  Soon  the 
pleasant  green  pasture  land  was  left  behind  and  he 
found  himself  in  a  desolate  part  of  the  mountain. 
Great  rocks  towered  overhead  at  a  terrifying  height, 
the  air  grew  colder  and  colder,  and  the  perpetual 
roar  and  rush  of  the  streams  had  a  melancholy 
sound.  The  dogs  had  disappeared  round  some 
boulders  and  it  was  as  much  as  he  could  do  to  leap 
from  stone  to  stone,  clamouring  after  them.  Then, 
as  he  rounded  the  crag  behind  which  they  had 
vanished,  he  beheld  a  dark  opening,  within  which  he 
could  hear  a  dreadful  snarling  and  barking  going 
on;  and  as  he  hurried  forward  to  go  to  his  dogs' 
assistance,  they  rushed  out,  one  of  them  bearing  the 
lamb  safely  in  its  mouth,  and  the  others  dragging 
out  the  carcase  of  a  savage  wolf.  The  shepherd's 


82  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

first  thought  was  for  the  lamb,  which  he  found 
to  be  quite  unhurt;  he  laid  it  on  a  tuft  of  moss, 
commanding  one  of  the  dogs  to  guard  it,  and 
then  turned  to  the  others.  What  was  his  amaze- 
ment to  find  the  wolf's  hair  covered  with  sparkling 
gems,  diamonds,  rubies,  sapphires,  emeralds,  and 
all  manner  of  stones  of  great  size,  flashing  brilliantly. 
Inside  the  cave,  the  floor  must  be  covered  with 
precious  jewels! 

Bidding  the  sheep-dogs  stay  on  guard,  the  shep- 
herd went  boldly  into  the  dark  entrance;  he  had  to 
stoop,  for  the  roof  was  low,  and  soon  he  found 
several  passages  leading  in  various  directions,  so 
that  he  was  puzzled  to  know  which  way  to  go;  but 
he  was  a  lad  of  great  resolution  and  when  he 
started  on  anything,  never  gave  in  till  he  had 
accomplished  his  purpose.  Somewhere  inside  this 
cave,  there  must  be  a  pile  of  treasure  and  the 
shepherd  was  determined  to  find  it.  On  he  went, 
therefore,  until  a  light  appeared  at  the  end  of  a 
narrow  passage,  and  he  hastened  to  it.  As  he  neared 
it,  he  found  the  passage  led  into  a  great  vaulted 
cave,  and  when  he  stepped  inside,  he  beheld  that  not 
only  were  the  walls  and  floor  sparkling  with  jewels, 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  83 

but  wonderful  coloured  stones  dripped  from  the  ceil- 
ing like  frozen  water,  and  at  the  end,  formed  a 
canopy  for  a  great  throne  whereon  sat  a  very  aged 
gentleman.  In  spite  of  the  fierce  look  this  white- 
bearded  old  man  cast  upon  him,  Bebeck  the  shepherd, 
did  not  forget  his  manners.  He  knew  very  well 
that  he  was  but  a  lad  and  should  show  respect  to  his 
elders,  and  so,  pulling  off  his  cap,  he  went  forward 
and  made  a  low  bow,  saying,  "  Good  evening,  grand- 
father." 

'  What  are  you  doing  here,  blundering  into  my 

home  without  invitation?"  said  the  old  gentleman. 

'  This  is   the  second   time   I   have   been  disturbed, 

for  who  should  enter  a  few  minutes  since,  but  a 

filthy  creature  with  some  other  brutes  after  him." 

"  He  is  done  for,  grandfather,"  said  the  shepherd, 
respectfully.  "  My  dogs  have  seen  to  it  that  the  wolf 
will  trouble  you  no  more.  I  noticed  he  had  carried 
off  a  quantity  of  precious  jewels  in  his  coarse  hair, 
however,  and  thought  it  well  to  come  in  and  see 
what  had  been  happening.  My  dogs  are  on  guard 
outside  so  that  the  treasure  is  safe,  and  if  you  desire, 
I  will  hasten  back  and  restore  it  to  you." 

"  You  are  a  very  polite  young  man,"  said  the  old 


84  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

gentleman.  "  If  you  had  not  bowed  and  said  grand- 
father, I  would  have  given  a  very  different  welcome. 
But  to  show  you  two  can  play  at  the  game  of  polite- 
ness, I  will  tell  you  to  keep  the  jewels  the  wolf 
brought  out,  in  return  for  ridding  my  cave  of  the 
nuisance;  and  in  return  for  the  pleasant  way  in 
which  you  have  greeted  me,  take  up  that  sack,  and 
fill  it  with  anything  you  fancy.  But  do  not  come 
back  for  more;  you  might  find  me  in  a  bad  temper 
next  time,  and  then  I  should  see  to  it  that  the  stones 
fell  down  on  your  head  and  destroyed  you.  I  must 
have  quiet  and  can't  encourage  visitors.  Besides, 
one  of  these  days  I  shall  leave,  and  Woe  betide  the 
man  who  comes  when  I  am  breaking  up  my  home! " 
The  shepherd  hastened  to  thank  the  old  gentleman, 
and  to  fill  the  sack  as  quickly  as  possible  and  then 
made  his  best  bow  and  hurried  out. 

After  a  good  deal  of  turning  and  twisting  he  saw 
daylight  and  rushing  towards  it,  came  onto  the 
mountain  to  find  he  had  spent  the  night  inside  the 
caves,  and  dawn  was  now  shedding  its  cool  light. 
The  dogs  and  the  lamb  were  still  there,  none  the 
worse  and  all  the  better  for  their  rest,  and  they  all 
went  down  the  mountain  side. 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  85 

When  he  came  into  his  hut,  the  shepherd  poured 
his  heap  of  jewels  on  the  table  and  wondered  at  their 
beauty.  They  were  obviously  worth  a  great  deal  of 
money,  but  the  shepherd  had  no  need  of  any!  He 
was  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  food  the  mountain 
provided,  with  his  dear  little  hut  which  his  clever 
fingers  had  made  so  bright  and  gay,  and  with  the 
work  which  God  had  given  him  to  do.  Think  as 
hard  as  he  could,  he  could  not  discover  a  single  thing 
he  lacked.  He  did  not  even  wish  to  keep  the 
jewels  lying  about,  so  that  he  might  look  at  them; 
his  hut  was  very  small  and  he  fitted  into  it  as  a 
nut  fits  its  shell;  everything  sufficient  for  his  needs 
was  there,  and  no  more. 

So  at  last  he  took  a  great  pan  of  milk  and  churned 
it  till  he  made  a  great  cheese.  While  it  was  still 
soft,  he  made  a  hole  in  the  middle  and  poured  all  the 
jewels  within,  then  he  tied  the  cheese  up  in  a  sheet 
and  drained  it,  and  then  he  pressed  it,  and  by  that 
time  he  had  a  great,  hard,  smooth  cheese,  that  no 
one  would  guess  was  full  of  treasure.  He  put  the 
cheese  in  his  cupboard,  and  that  was  the  end  of  his 
fortune  as  far  as  he  was  concerned! 

Summer  passed,  and  autumn   came   and   all   the 


86  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

trees  in  the  forest  became  gold  and  scarlet,  and  the 
shepherd  dyed  his  yarns  and  got  in  a  fine  store 
of  stuffs  and  yarns  for  his  winter  evenings.  Then 
the  winds  blew  loud  and  the  snow  fell  and  it  was 
winter.  Now  the  sheep  huddled  together  in  the 
sheepfold  and  the  shepherd  played  his  flute  and 
painted  a  grand  chest  he  had  made  in  the  summer, 
in  which  he  would  keep  the  winter  coats  and  furs. 
For  a  change,  he  would  take  up  his  needle,  and 
make  beautiful  patterns  on  the  coat  he  wore  to  the 
town  on  feastdays  and  holidays.  He  had  not  to 
hurry,  so  could  stitch  as  slowly  as  he  pleased  and 
make  a  thousand  petals  in  a  rose.  Ah,  these  were 
happy  evenings,  with  the  door  closed,  the  sheep  safe 
in  the  fold,  the  wind  howling  round  the  little  hut, 
and  within,  the  candle  burning  brightly  and  the 
wood  fire  leaping  up  the  chimney  and  fair  flowers 
growing  and  glowing  on  the  chest  or  the  coat,  till  it 
was  summer  inside  the  hut  and  the  shepherd 
whistled  for  joy. 

But  one  evening  there  was  such  a  storm  that  the 
torrents  sounded  as  if  they  must  surely  flood  the 
mountain,  the  gre'at  trees  bent  and  cracked,  and 
boughs  fell  everywhere,  the  wind  rushed  round  the 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  87 

little  hut  as  if  it  would  tear  the  roof  off,  and  even  the 
dogs  looked  up  once  or  twice  from  their  sleep  on  the 
hearth.  The  shepherd,  however,  was  painting  a 
wild  strawberry  on  his  chest,  and  before  his  eyes, 
floated  so  vivid  a  picture  of  its  pure  white  flower, 
and  scarlet  berry  and  neat  glossy  leaves,  that  blue 
sky  and  bright  sunshine  and  fresh  grass  seemed 
everywhere,  and  his  whistle  had  the  music  of  a 
purling  rill,  as  gentle  and  delicate. 

It  was  not  till  the  dogs  had  leapt  from  the  hearth, 
that  the  shepherd  woke  up  to  the  fact  that  some  one 
was  knocking  at  his  door.  Then  you  may  be  sure 
he  was  quick  to  open  it. 

Who  should  stand  there,  or  rather,  who  should 
be  blown  inside  directly  the  door  was  flung  open, 
but  a  stranger  wrapped  in  a  dark  mantle.  The 
shepherd  was  quick  to  help  him  off  with  it,  for  it  was 
wet  and  heavy;  and  then  he  saw  a  handsome,  sad- 
looking  man,  whose  face  was  oddly  familiar  to  him, 
though  where  Bebeck  had  seen  him,  he  could  not 
think. 

However,  the  stranger  was  in  need  of  food  and 
shelter,  and  it  was  not  the  time  to  ask  questions. 
He  soon  had  a  chair  drawn  up  to  the  fire,  a  flagon 


88  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

of  cordial  crushed  from  the  mountain-berries,  warm- 
ing in  the  embers,  and  good  fresh  bread,  salted 
butter,  goat  cheese,  and  milk  on  the  table. 

Then  the  stranger  drew  up  his  chair  and  ate 
heartily,  admiring  the  painted  wooden  platter,  with 
its  garland  of  blue  berries,  and  the  coarse  linen  cloth 
fringed  and  stitched  in  bright  colours.  Even  the 
cup  he  drank  from  was  carved  and  painted,  so  that 
every  bite  or  sup  was  a  pleasure  to  the  eye  as  well 
as  to  the  stomach. 

They  chatted  of  the  storm,  and  then  the  talk 
turned  to  a  pleasanter  subject,  the  beautiful  things 
in  the  cottage;  and  pleased  and  surprised  the  stranger 
was  to  learn  the  shepherd  had  made  everything 
from  the  wood  that  grew  in  the  forest  and  the 
flax  that  grew  on  the  soil,  and  the  wool  that 
grew  on  the  sheep,  and  that  even  the  gay  colours 
came  from  the  bark  of  the  trees  or  herbs  in  the 
grass. 

'  Your  face  is  as  bright  as  your  hut,"  said  the 
stranger.  'Tis  indeed  good  to  find  such  a  welcome 
on  this  lonely  mountain,"  and  the  stranger  sighed 
as  if  his  heart  were  very  sad. 

'  You  speak  like  a  man  who  has  travelled  much," 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  89 

said  the  simple  shepherd,  noticing  the  fine,  smooth 
hands  of  his  guest,  and  his  great  signet  ring. 

"  Very  far,"  said  the  stranger,  "  from  end  to  end 
of  my  kingdom,  and  everywhere  there  is  nothing  but 
ruin  and  desolation." 

Then  the  shepherd  knew  the  stranger  was  no 
other  than  the  King  of  Hungary  and  dropped  on  his 
knees,  faltering,  "  Your  Majesty,"  for  he  had  been 
chatting  to  him  as  one  friend  might  to  another. 
But  the  King  said  that  was  just  how  he  liked  to  be 
talked  to,  and  told  Bebeck  to  get  up  again  and  be 
sensible. 

"  You  are  a  clever  fellow,"  said  the  King,  "  and  'tis 
good  to  find  contentment  in  a  mountain  hut.  But 
I  cannot  help  remembering  my  poor  people  in  the 
cities;  the  Mongols  have  burnt  the  houses  to  the 
ground,  and  there  is  no  money  anywhere  with  which 
to  build  them.  We  need  bricks  and  stones  and  ' 
timbers  from  afar,  and  the  whole  of  my  fortune  will 
not  suffice  to  purchase  what  is  required.  I  have 

travelled  through  the  land  and  this  is  the  first  bright 

/ 
spot  I  have  found.     But  you  have  only  yourself  to 

think  of;  I  cannot  feast  or  rejoice  while  my  people 
are  homeless." 


9o  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

At  this  Bebeck's  heart  grew  full,  for  all  his  sub- 
jects knew  the  goodness  of  King  Bela,  and  loved  to 
serve  him. 

The  King  finished  his  supper,  and  turned  again  to 
the  painted  chest  and  marvelled  at  the  beauty  of  the 
many  flowers  painted  on  it.  Talking  of  them,  his 
face  grew  less  miserable,  and  a  look  of  peace  came 
into  his  eyes  and  presently  he  said  he  felt  he  should 
sleep  to-night.  So  Bebeck  hastened  to  put  clean 
sheets  on  his  rough  bed,  and  made  it  ready.  A 
great  plan  was  coming  into  Bebeck's  head,  and  when 
he  had  finished,  he  said  to  the  King,  "  Now,  Your 
Majesty,  I  must  leave  you;  two  of  my  dogs  will  be 
on  guard,  so  have  no  fear  of  any  disturbance.  I 
must  go  out  now  on  an  important  errand,  and  if 
I  succeed,  it  may  be  that  to-morrow  morning  will 
find  you  with  sufficient  fortune  to  rebuild  the  ruined 
cities  of  Hungary." 

At  this  King  Bela  smiled,  for  it  seemed  a  foolish 
boast  for  a  poor  shepherd  to  make,  but  Bebeck  con- 
tinued, "  And  if  I  do  not  return,  I  beg  Your  Majesty 
to  take  that  big  cheese  and  cut  it  open,  for  quite  a 
large  fortune  is  in  that." 

With   these   words,   Bebeck   took   out   from   the 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFO'LDS  91 

chest  his  entire  store  of  sheepskins  and  tied  them 
together  into  a  great  sack;  then  putting  them  and  a 
coil  of  rope  round  his  shoulders,  he  bade  the  King 
good-night,  and  calling  his  dogs  to  him,  stepped  out 
into  the  storm.  The  King  smiled  more  than  ever  as 
he  looked  up  at  the  great  cheese,  but  suddenly  an 
idea  struck  him  that  the  simple  shepherd  might  be 
giving  him  a  true  message,  and  that  in  the  cheeses 
which  peasants  made,  there  was  treasure  indeed  for 
a  country. 

"  I  must  first  see  that  the  people  have  goats  and 
cattle,"  thought  the  King,  and  fell  asleep  planning 
for  his  people's  prosperity  and  happiness.  That 
there  was  actual  treasure  of  precious  gems  inside 
the  cheese,  he  never  thought  for  one  moment. 

Meanwhile  Bebeck  had  put  two  of  his  dogs  on 
guard,  and  left  one  at  the  sheepfold;  with  the  others 
he  went  forward  up  the  mountain.  He  had  de- 
termined to  go  again  to  the  treasure  cave  and  risk 
his  life  for  the  King's  sake,  and  the  starving  people 
*  in  the  plains  below. 

Terrible  was  the  storm  and  difficult  indeed  it  was 
to  battle  up  against  the  wind  and  rain,  but  clad  in  his 
stout  sheepskin  cloak  and  additionally  protected  by 


92  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

the  pile  of  sheepskins  on  his  shoulders,  Bebeck 
pressed  forward  until  the  faithful  sheep-dogs  showed 
him  that  the  entrance  of  the  cave  was  reached.  He 
went  in,  undismayed  by  the  terrific  grumblings  and 
rumblings  which  seemed  to  be  proceeding  from  the 
heart  of  the  mountain  itself.  But  as  he  advanced 
further  and  further  in,  the  noise  became  deafening, 
the  walls  of  the  passage  heaved  and  the  very  earth 
seemed  to  shake  under  his  feet.  His  dogs  crept 
close  to  him  and  whined,  and  only  their  devotion  to 
their  master  induced  them  to  stay  with  him. 

At  last  he  saw  a  faint  light  glimmering,  no  longer 
bright,  and  hastening  forward,  perceived  that  the 
brilliant  cave  was  now  shaking  and  heaving  as 
though  the  storm  was  convulsing  it.  Of  the  old 
gentleman  there  was  no  sign.  But  as  Bebeck  stood 
on  the  threshold,  he  perceived  the  ground  was  tilting 
so  that  a  great  stream  of  jewels  was  flowing  down 
to  him,  not  precious  stones  this  time,  but  crowns, 
goblets  and  rings  and  brooches.  He  had  but  to  open 
the  mouth  of  his  sack,  and  place  it  on  the  ground, 
and  the  sparkling  treasures  hastened,  as  if  by  their 
own  free  will,  to  fill  his  huge  sack  to  overflowing. 

Quickly  he  seized  the  rope  and  bound  it  round, 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  93 

then  with  the  aid  of  his  dogs,  he  dragged  the  burden 
through  the  passages,  arriving  outside  as  a  terrific 
crash  indicated  that  the  roof  of  the  cave  had  tumbled 
in.  Now  the  storm  grew  less  and  by  the  time  he 
beheld  his  hut,  the  stars  were  out  and  shining. 

In  the  morning  when  he  heard  his  guest  moving, 
he  quickly  went  in  to  prepare  breakfast  and  give  his 
news. 

How  amazed  the  King  was  when  Bebeck  invited 
him  to  the  door  and  there  on  the  hard  snow  he 
beheld  the  mighty  pile  of  treasure. 

Then  King  Bela  begged  the  shepherd  to  ask  him 
for  some  gift.  "  There  must  be  something  I  can  do 
to  show  my  gratitude,"  said  the  King. 

"  But  no,"  said  Bebeck.  "  My  joy  consists  in 
giving  Your  Majesty  pleasure,  and  also  in  thinking 
of  the  prosperous 'cities  and  happy  people  you  will 
now  see  round  you." 

"  If  they  are  as  happy  as  you,  I  shall  indeed  have 
a  happy  kingdom,"  said  King  Bela,  but  he  went  on 
to  beg  the  shepherd  to  think  of  something  for  him- 
self, and  at  last  Bebeck  said,  "  Well,  Your  Majesty, 
as  I  wander  about  the  mountains  after  my  sheep,  I 
come  on  flocks  belonging  to  other  shepherds;  they 


94  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

suffer  as  I  do,  from  their  lambs  and  sheep  straying 
into  dangerous  places.  Grant  me  permission  to  build 
some  sheepfolds  on  the  mountain  tops,  so  that  there 
will  always  be  a  place  of  refuge  and  shelter  for  the 
straying  sheep." 

Willingly  this  request  was  granted  and  the  King 
departed,  telling  the  shepherd  to  keep  his  cheese  as 
the  gems  in  the  sack  would  be  all  and  more  than 
was  needed  for  the  King's  people  on  the  plains 
below. 

The  King  went  down  to  the  mountain  therefore, 
and  the  next  day  sent  people  for  the  treasure,  and 
after  that  he  was  busy,  arranging  for  the  cities  to 
be  built  and  the  peoples'  homes  restored,  so  that 
Bebeck,  the  shepherd,  almost  went  out  of  his  head. 

But  one  day  he  received  certain  of  his  nobles  who 
said  they  had  come  to  tell  him  of  a  terrible  thing 
that  was  happening.  '  There  is  a  low-born  shepherd 
by  the  name  of  Bebeck,"  said  they,  "  who  is  actually 
building  castles  on  the  top  of  the  highest  mountains 
round  his  home.  They  are  as  strong  as  fortresses 
and  beautiful  as  palaces.  Pray  send  an  army  at  once 
to  destroy  them  and  punish  the  fellow  for  his  pre- 
sumption." 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  95 

"  Nay,"  said  the  King.  "  Let  me  go  and  see  them 
first." 

He  was  smiling  to  himself,  for  he  had  a  pretty 
good  idea  that  the  castles  were  sheepfolds,  and  sure 
enough,  as  he  rode  up  the  mountain  to  Bebeck's 
hut,  he  beheld  imposing  walls  rising  on  every  peak 
around. 

Fortunately  Bebeck  was  in  his  hut  when  the 
King  arrived,  mixing  some  gruel  for  a  sick  lamb.  By 
the  happy  radiant  smile  with  which  Bebeck  met  the 
King,  the  King  knew  he  had  done  nothing  wrong. 
"  I  have  come  to  see  your  sheepfolds,  Bebeck,"  said; 
the  King. 

"  Oh,  Your  Majesty,  I  am  more  grateful  than  I 
can  ever  say,"  cried  Bebeck.  "  If  the  storm  had  not 
driven  you  to  my  cottage,  my  treasure  would  still 
have  been  hidden  in  that  cheese,  of  no  use  to  any 
one,  and  I  would  still  have  been  selfishly  happy, 
never  thinking  of  any  one  outside  my  cottage.  But 
thanks  to  Your  Majesty's  wisdom,  who  knew  I  must 
wish  to  help  others  even  as  Your  Majesty  does,  my 
treasure  is  now  sold  and  hundreds  of  masons  and 
carpenters  are  at  work,  making  the  sheepfolds  stout 
and  strong  to  last  forever.  We  have  built  rooms  for 


96  THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS 

the  shepherds  too,  and  storehouses  for  provisions, 
so  that  if  any  one  is  belated  with  his  flock,  there  will 
be  good  shelter  for  him.  And  as  the  mountain  tops 
in  winter  are  somewhat  cheerless,  beautiful  pictures 
are  being  carved  and  painted  on  the  walls." 

"  So  that  is  why  your  sheepfolds  are  thought  to  be 
palaces,"  smiled  the  King,  and  went  with  Bebeck  to 
look  at  their  wonders,  with  the  smile  lurking  in  his 
eyes  and  round  the  corners  of  his  mouth,  for  so 
generous  had  been  Bebeck's  provision  for  strangers 
and  wanderers,  man  or  beast,  that  indeed  most 
beautiful  castles  had  been  erected. 

Then  he  went  down  to  the  city  again,  and  sum- 
moned his  nobles  who  came  eager  to  hear  what 
punishment  was  to  be  given  the  presumptuous 
shepherd.  But  King  Bela  said,  "  I  have  gathered  you 
together  to  tell  you  I  have  to-day  made  Bebeck  the 
greatest  noble  of  you  all,  for  there  is  no  person  more 
worthy  of  honour  in  my  kingdom;  now  I  wish  you 
all  to  hear  the  story  of  the  seven  sheepfolds  and  how 
they  have  come  to  be  built." 

Then  he  told  them  arid  the  nobles  bowed  their 
heads  abashed,  for  none  of  them  had  done  for 
Hungary  what  the  shepherd  Bebeck  had  been  able 


THE  SEVEN  SHEEPFOLDS  97 

to  do.  The  King  then  had  a  fine  shield  painted  with 
a  device  of  Seven  Sheepfolds,  and  sent  it  to  Bebeck, 
saying  this  was  to  be  his  coat-of-arms.  And  if 
Bebeck  for  the  first  minute  regretted  leaving  his 
simple  shepherd  life  and  his  dear  little  hut,  he  soon 
saw  that  now  he  had  built  the  sheepfolds  he  must 
see  that  they  were  properly  kept  up,  and  used  to  the 
best  advantage. 

Soon  that  mountainous  district  became  populated 
and  prosperous,  for  the  fine  stout  sheepfolds  at- 
tracted many  shepherds,  and  their  good  sheep-dogs 
kept  the  forests  clear  of  wild  beasts,  and  Bebeck 
taught  the  shepherds  how  to  carve  and  paint  and 
embroider,  so  that  all  were  busy  of  an  evening  and 
good  and  happy. 

The  flocks  of  sheep  increased  so  much  that  they 
overflowed  into  the  plains  and  the  sheep  of  Hungary 
became  famous;  but  more  famous  still  became  the 
beautiful  peasant  work  which  is  now  sold  all  over 
the  world  and  is  hung  in  great  mansions  and  palaces. 

Thus  the  beauty  of  the  mountain  flowers  and 
streams  and  forests  seen  by  a  simple  shepherd,  has 
been  spread  abroad  until  it  delights  the  whole  world, 
and  many  a  home  is  gay  with  it. 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

A  Tale  of  India 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  boy  who  lived  in 
India.  He  was  marvellously  clever  with  his 
bow  and  arrow.  He  could  shoot  a  thread  from  a 
spider's  web  without  breaking  the  web,  or  a  flower 
from  his  sister's  hair  without  ruffling  a  single  lock. 
His  sister  was  very  proud  of  his  skill  and  the  boy 
would  keep  her  standing  in  the  garden  for  hours  on 
end  while  he  practised  shooting  at  flowers  she  held 
in  her  hand  or  between  her  lips  or  tucked  behind 
her  ear  or  in  her  hair. 

But  the  boy  became  so  conceited  that  at  last  he 
took  no  great  trouble  to  save  his  sister  from  harm. 
One  day  he  told  her  he  would  shoot  away  her  eye- 
brow on  the  morrow. 

His  sister  was  very  unhappy  and  went  to  her 
other  brother  to  ask  what  she  should  do. 

Now,  every  day,   Sure  Archer,   as   the  boy  was 

99 


I00  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

called,  asked  his   sis- 
ter,  before   he  began 
his  performance,  "  Is 
there  a  cleverer  man 
in  the  world  than  I  ?  " 
and  every  day  his  sis- 
ter answered:   u  No." 
But  now  her  brother 
told    her    that    when 
Sure     Archer     asked 
the  question,   to  say, 
"Yes,"  and  that   her 
brother    thought    so, 
too.     So   next  morn- 
ing, when  Sure  Archer 
marched  up  with  his 
bow  and  arrows,  and 
asked     his     question 
proudly,  "  Is  there  a 
cleverer    man    in    the 
world    than    I?"    the 
girl  answered  "  Yes." 
Sure    Archer   was    so 
surprised   he   did   not 


He  would  keep  her  standing  in 
the  garden  for  hours  on  end, 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS  101 

know  what  to  do.  He 
just  stood  gaping  at 
her;  but  to-day  his 
sister  did  not  feel 
nearly  so  afraid  of 
him  and  said:  "  My 
brother  thinks  so,  too, 
and  I  have  no  doubt 
many  other  people  are 
of  our  opinion.  And 
even  if  you  shoot  off 
my  eyebrow,  it  will  be 
no  proof  that  you  are 
the  cleverest  man  in 
the  world." 

This  disturbed  Sure 
Archer  so  much  that 
he  decided  to  go  out 
into  the  world  and  see 
if  he  could  find  any 
one  as  clever  as  him- 
self. 

He  travelled  for 
many  a  mile  until  he 


while  he  practised  shooting  at 
flowers  she  held  in  her  hand. 


102  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

came  to  a  village  where  a  crowd  had  assembled;  join- 
ing them,  he  beheld  a  boy  no  older  than  himself, 
wrestling  with  a  big  man  and  overthrowing  him 
easily.  Everybody  applauded  the  boy  and  cried  out: 
"Behold  Great  Wrestler!" 

And  the  boy  bowed  and  smiled  and  said :  "  Yes, 
I  am  certainly  the  cleverest  man  in  the  world." 

"Can  you  shoot  that  flower  from  yonder  tree?" 
cried  Sure  Archer,  pressing  into  the  centre  of  the 
ring.  Before  any  one  could  answer,  he  lifted  his 
bow  to  his  shoulder  and  sent  a  scarlet  blossom 
floating  in  the  air,  far  above  their  heads. 

Now  all  the  villagers  gaped  and  marvelled  and 
said  one  to  another:  "Which  is  the  cleverer  of  the 
two?" 

The  boy  who  was  called  Great  Wrestler  came  up 
to  Sure  Archer  and  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  said, 
"  I  am  going  through  the  world  to  see  if  there  is 
any  one  as  clever  as  I  am." 

'  Why,  that  is  just  what  I  have  come  out  to 
find,"  said  Sure  Archer. 

"  Let  us  go  along  together,  then,"  said  Great 
Wrestler. 

Off  they  started  and  as  Sure  Archer  could  bring 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS  103 

down  any  fruit  from  the  trees  with  his  arrows, 
and  Great  Wrestler  could  overthrow  any  ob- 
stacle that  came  in  their  way,  they  got  along  very 
well. 

One  day,  however,  they  entered  a  deep  ravine 
between  high  mountains  and  there  they  heard  a 
terrific  noise.  It  was  as  if  all  the  lions  and  tigers 
in  the  world  were  roaring.  Less  stout-hearted  boys 
might  have  turned  back,  but  Great  Wrestler  cried: 
"  I  am  a  match  for  any  lion,"  and  Sure  Archer 
grasped  his  bow  and  said,  "  I  will  shoot  off  their 
whiskers  and  then  they  will  soon  stop  squeak- 
ing." 

On  they  went,  when  whom  should  they  see  coming 
along  beside  the  foaming  torrent  but  a  boy  no  bigger 
than  themselves.  He  it  was  who  was  making  that 
extraordinary  noise.  True,  his  face  was  swollen 
with  his  exertions  and  when  he  got  up  to  them,  he 
was  puffing  and  panting  so  that  he  could  hardly 
speak.  But  he  certainly  had  made  more  noise  than 
any  one  they  had  ever  heard  before. 

He  made  a  polite  salutation  and  said,  as  well  as 
he  could  for  wheezing  and  breathing:  "My  name 
is  Loud  Roarer;  no  one  in  the  world  is  as  clever  as 


104  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

I  am,  so  people  say,  and  I  have  come  out  to  see 

for  myself  if  that  is  true." 

"  Why,  that  is  just  what  people  say  about  me," 
said  Great  Wrestler  and  Sure  Archer  together  and 
at  once  showed  him  what  they  could  do,  Sure  Archer 
splitting  a  bubble  in  the  waterfall,  and  Great 
Wrestler  lifting  a  huge  boulder  from  the  river  bed 
and  tossing  it  to  the  other  bank  as  easily  as  if  it  had 
been  a  pebble. 

Well  now,  these  three  clever  fellows  stood  and 
wondered  at  one  another  and  then  they  agreed  to 
join  company  and  see  if  there  were  any  other  fellows 
in  the  world  as  clever  as  they  were. 

"  It  does  not  seem  possible,"  said  Great  Wrestler, 
and  to  this  they  all  agreed. 

But  before  they  got  to  the  end  of  the  ravine,  they 
beheld  something  dark  and  immense  in  the  air,  ever 
so  high  above  their  heads,  as  if  a  great  bird  flapped 
its  wings  and  tumbled  over  and  over  in  the  sky.  All 
stopped  to  observe  and  Sure  Archer  cried  out: 
'  Why,  it  is  a  boy  no  bigger  than  ourselves  turning 
somersaults  in  the  air  as  he  leaps  from  one  side  of 
the  rocks  to  the  other." 

Loud  Roarer  at  once  used  his  powerful  voice  to 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS  105 

halloo  to  him  and  soon  the  Tumbler  came  head 
over  heels  down  the  steep  mountain-side,  and  landed 
with  a  leap  at  their  feet. 

He  made  a  polite  bow  and  told  them  he  was  the 
cleverest  man  in  the  world. 

But  at  this,  Loud  Roarer  let  out  a  great  roar  of 
disapproval,  Sure  Archer  twanged  his  bow  and  split 
the  feather  in  Tumbler's  cap,  and  Great  Wrestler 
picked  up  Tumbler  and  held  him  up  above  the  river 
bed,  saying:  "  Throw  me  to  the  ground  then  if  you 
are  cleverer  than  I."  Tumbler  got  out  of  the 
difficulty  by  making  such  a  sudden  twist  that  he 
jumped  clear  over  Wrestler's  head.  Then  the  four 
stood  and  glared. 

'  The  world  is  getting  altogether  too  full  of  clever 
fellows,"  said  Sure  Archer.  "  It  cannot  be  too  full 
of  a  good  thing,"  said  the  Tumbler,  who  was  the 
best  tempered  of  the  lot.  "  I  take  it  you  are  all  on  the 
same  quest  as  I  am — may  I  not  join  your  company 
and  let  the  four  of  us  go  forward  together?  I  do  not 
think  it  is  possible  that  there  can  be  any  more  people 
as  clever  as  we  are." 

Well,  this  sounded  probable,  and  they  agreed  to 
let  Tumbler  go  with  them.  They  journeyed  till  they 


io6  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

came  to  a  high  mountain.  The  river  was  now  wide 
and  deep  and  on  the  opposite  bank  was  a  little  house 
where  they  could  see  an  old  man  sitting.  They  were 
hungry  and  desired  a  night's  lodging  with  com- 
fortable beds,  after  the  day's  exercise,  so  Wrestler 
threw  rocks  into  the  river  until  there  were  some 
stepping-stones,  Tumbler  leaped  across  them,  Sure 
Archer  shot  an  arrow  with  a  string  tied  to  it  and 
Loud  Roarer  called  to  the  old  man  and  asked  him 
for  a  piece  of  rope.  Finally  the  rope  was  tied  to  the 
string  and  pulled  across  and  Wrestler,  Archer,  and 
Roarer  all  came  over  by  its  aid. 

Then  they  marched  up  to  the  little  house,  bowed 
politely,  and  told  the  old  man  what  wonderful  people 
they  were.  '  Though  I  expect  you  have  seen  that 
for  yourself  already,"  they  added. 

But  the  old  man  looked  at  them  quietly  and 
merely  asked  them  their  business. 

They  told  him  they  were  travelling  to  find  if  there 
were  any  other  people  in  the  world  as  clever  as 
they. 

The  old  man  shook  his  head  at  this  and  said: 
"  Cleverness  is  of  no  value  unless  you  use  it  for 
some  good  purpose.  My  name  is  Deep  Thinker,  and 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS  107 

you  are  welcome  to  stay  at  my  home  for  awhile 
and  learn  what  true  cleverness  consists  of." 

The  four  companions  were  glad  enough  of  a  bed 
and  a  good  meal  and  said  they  would  stay  for  the 
night,  at  any  rate.  But  when  they  had  eaten  and 
were  sitting  out  in  the  moonlight,  watching  the 
great  mountains  towering  up  around  them  and  hear- 
ing the  river's  mighty  sound  as  it  rushed  to  the 
loud-voiced  ocean  just  beyond,  all  fell  strangely 
silent.  Tumbler  could  never  leap  as  high  as  the 
mountains.  Loud  Roarer  could  never  drown  the 
noise  of  the  ocean.  Wrestler  could  never  throw 
down  the  rocks  that  loomed  against  the  sky,  and 
Sure  Archer  could  never  bring  the  distant  stars  to 
the  earth. 

Hence  they  gradually  stopped  boasting  of  them- 
selves and  their  host  was  able  to  tell  them  a  little 
story. 

"  Let  me  tell  you,"  said  he,  "  of  the  jackal  who 
wished  to  become  the  King  of  all  the  Beasts.  He, 
like  you,  thought  he  was  the  cleverest  creature  of 
his  kind  in  all  the  world.  He,  too,  went  out  into  the 
world  as  you  have  done,  and  travelled  until  he  came 
to  a  dyer's  shop.  There,  as  he  snuffed  round,  he 


io8  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

fell  into  a  vat  of  bright  blue  dye  and  coming  out, 
found  his  coat  was  entirely  blue.  Instead  of  being 
mortified,  he  was  delighted,  for  he  was  sure  there 
was  not  another  Bright  Blue  Jackal  in  the  world. 
On  and  on  he  stalked  till  he  met  some  other 
jackals  who  admired  him  immensely.  They  told 
the  other  animals  and  as  no  one  had  ever  seen  a 
Bright  Blue  Jackal  before,  they  listened  to  his 
boasting  and  allowed  him  to  become  King  of  the 
Animals. 

"  He  mounted  on  an  elephant's  back  so  that  all 
might  see  and  the  rest  of  the  animals  sat  round  and 
admired  the  jackal  in  the  outside  ring. 

"  But  the  jackal  was  not  satisfied  because  his 
mother  was  not  worshipping  him  and  he  sent  an- 
other jackal  to  her  to  tell  her  to  come  and  see  her 
son.  The  mother  refused  to  come,  however,  and 
sent  word  that  it  was  not  good  for  a  creature  to  be 
separated  from  his  kind. 

'  Tell  my  son  he  will  be  safe  until  he  begins  to 
howl  like  any  other  jackal,'  said  she.  The  jackal 
to  whom  she  spoke  was  astonished  at  this  saying 
and  told  the  other  jackals,  saying:  '  Can  it  be  that 
this  creature  is  like  ourselves?' 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS  109 

" '  Let  us  howl,  and  test  him/  said  the  other 
jackals,  for  there  is  a  belief  among  jackals  that  every 
jackal  must  howl  when  it  hears  its  fellows  or  else 
its  fur  will  fall  off.  Consequently,  when  the  outer 
ring  of  jackals  began  to  bellow,  the  Bright  Blue 
Jackal  thought  it  must  raise  its  voice  or  its  bright 
blue  coat  would  disappear  and  then  there  would  be 
nothing  to  worship.  But  when  he  raised  his  voice 
and  brayed,  the  animals  found  him  out  at  once 
and  chased  him  from  his  throne." 

"  I  do  not  see  why  the  Bright  Blue  Jackal  is  like 
me,"  said  Sure  Archer.  "  I  do  not  bray."  "  Nor  I," 
cried  Wrestler.  "  Nor  I,"  cried  Tumbler.  "  And 
you  cannot  call  my  roaring,  braying,"  said  Loud 
Roarer,  very  indignantly. 

"  There  is  one  note  on  which  all  jackals  sing," 
said  Deep  Thinker  quietly,  "  and  that  is  in  praise 
of  himself  and  of  himself  alone.  I  bid  you  good- 
night, for  I  have  had  a  tiring  evening."  With  this, 
Deep  Thinker  retired  and  the  four  companions  were 
left  to  ponder  on  this  last  remark. 

But  instead  of  thinking  it  over,  they  fell  to 
saying  that  Deep  Thinker  could  not  teach  them 
anything. 


i  io  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

"Thinking  is  nothing;  any  one  can  think,"  said 
Wrestler.  "  Let  us  show  what  we  can  do." 

"  That's  it,"  said  Sure  Archer,"  he  does  not  under- 
stand that  we  are  clever." 

"  We  can  soon  prove  it,"  said  Tumbler. 

"  Of  course,  the  Blue  Jackal  had  nothing  to  be 
proud  of  because  he  was  no  one  in  particular,"  said 
Loud  Roarer. 

So  they  put  their  heads  together,  and  decided  each 
would  then  and  there  show  his  skill.  Accordingly, 
Wrestler  ran  down  to  the  seashore  and  lifted  a  huge 
boulder  and  brought  it  back  to  the  house  and  put 
it  before  the  front  door;  Sure  Archer  took  his  bow 
and  shot  an  arrow  through  Deep  Thinker's  window, 
so  that  it  pinned  his  hair  to  the  pillow;  Tumbler  and 
Loud  Roarer  than  acted  together,  Loud  Roarer 
making  the  loudest  noise  he  had  ever  made  in  his 
life,  while  Tumbler  jumped  over  the  house  and 
turned  twenty  somersaults,  without  stopping,  on 
the  roof. 

Having  performed  these  wonderful  feats,  the  four 
companions  were  so  tired  out  that  they  threw  them- 
selves down  on  their  beds  and  fell  asleep. 

Of  course  they  had  wakened  Deep  Thinker,  who 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS  in 

was  surprised  to  find  the  arrow  sticking  through  his 
hair  in  the  pillow,  and  the  door  of  the  house  blocked 
up.  The  noise  overhead  and  the  thumps  on  the 
roof  were  also  rather  alarming.  But  he  got  through 
the  window  and  made  his  way  to  the  room  where 
the  four  friends  were  fast  asleep. 

He  saw  at  once  they  had  been  up  to  something 
from  the  heavy  sleep  that  had  come  over  them  and 
tasting  the  salt  water  on  Wrestler's  hand,  he  knew 
he  had  been  down  to  the  sea,  whence  had  come  the 
great  boulder. 

He  saw  five  arrows  were  now  in  Sure  Archer's 
quiver  where  six  had  been  when  he  went  to  bed,  and 
he  saw  also  that  Loud  Roarer  was  still  puffing  and 
panting,  and  Tumbler  lay  with  the  veins  in  knots  on 
his  forehead  as  if  he  had  undergone  violent  exertion. 
Deep  Thinker  smiled  and  went  back  to  bed. 

In  the  morning,  when  the  sun  was  streaming  in, 
Deep  Thinker  awakened  them  and  told  Wrestler 
to  lift  the  boulder  from  the  door. 

"  I  could  have  done  anything  I  pleased  with  you 

in  the  night,  my  friends,"  said  he  quietly.  "  For  after 

* 
the  exhibition  of  your  wonderful  strength,  you  fell 

asleep  like  tired  dogs  and  were  at  my  mercy.    What 


ii2  THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS 

good  you  meant  to  accomplish  I  do  not  know,  so 

perhaps  you  will  tell  me." 

It  seemed  a  poor  return  for  his  hospitality  to  tell 
them  they  had  meant  to  frighten  him;  so  the  four 
friends  said  nothing.  But  when  they  had  breakfast, 
Deep  Thinker  told  them  of  a  little  village  nearby 
where  the  population  was  suffering  because  a  land- 
slide had  swept  away  their  crops. 

"  Now,  let  us  see  what  strong  fellows  can  do  with 
a  good  purpose  moving  them,"  said  he,  and  conduct- 
ing the  four  friends  thither,  Deep  Thinker  directed 
Wrestler  to  move  the  boulders;  Tumbler  to  leap 
from  point  to  point  and  rescue  the  animals  which 
had  fallen  down  the  chasm;  Archer  to  shoot  the 
fruit  from  the  trees  that  now  stood  so  high  up  none 
could  reach  them;  and  Loud  Roarer  to  shout  until 
every  wild  beast  was  scared  away. 

On  seeing  the  happiness  their  efforts  had  created, 
the  four  friends  went  to  Deep  Thinker  and  said, 
''  Without  you,  we  could  have  done  none  of  this. 
You  are  certainly  the  cleverest  man  in  the  world." 

But  Deep  Thinker  shook  his  head  and  said:  "  Each 
has  his  own  work  to  do.  Those  who  serve  the  world 
best  are  the  best  workers.  Despise  no  one,  but  seek 


THE  CLEVER  COMPANIONS  113 

to  discover  them  and  be  humble  of  heart,  nor  boast, 
nor  be  vain.  However  skilful  you  may  be,  you  are 
of  no  value  unless  your  skill  is  used  to  good 
purpose." 

The  four  companions  then  turned  their  faces 
homewards,  determined  to  waste  no  more  of  their 
efforts  in  showing  off  their  skill,  but  to  find  some 
useful  work  wherein  their  prowess  could  be  of 
service  to  the  world. 


TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN 

A  Tale  of  Ireland 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  poor  widow  who 
lived  all  alone  with  her  little  baby  in  a  tiny 
cottage  on  the  moor.  The  cottage  was  no  better 
than  a  tumble-down  cowshed,  too  poor  for  the  cows 
to  live  in.  There  was  nothing  but  earth  for  the 
floor,  sods  of  turf  for  the  walls,  and  peat  for  the 
roof.  But  the  widow  could  keep  a  little  fire  going  in 
the  winter  and  the  cottage  was  snug  and  warm. 
This  was  a  good  thing,  for  she  was  so  poor  she 
could  not  afford  many  clothes  for  her  baby. 

She  had  not  so  much  as  an  old  rag  with  which 
to  cover  him  and  he  was  so  big  and  jolly  and  fat 
that  her  poverty  saved  her  some  trouble;  for  this 
baby  of  hers  would  have  grown  out  of  his  clothes 
almost  as  soon  as  she  put  them  on. 

To  keep  him  warm,  she  dug  a  hole  in  the  earth 
by  the  fireplace;  this  she  filled  with  nice,  soft  warm 

us 


n6  TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN 

peat  ashes  and  put  the  baby  into  it  and  covered  him 
up  to  his  armpits  with  the  ash.  You  may  think 
this  a  strange  way  to  bring  up  a  baby,  but  being  an 
Irish  woman  she  could  always  find  a  path  out  of 
every  difficulty,  and  when  the  baby  grew  bigger,  she 
just  kept  hollowing  out  the  hole. 

In  spite  of  this  queer  bringing  up,  the  baby  grew 
into  the  jolliest  and  most  contented  little  boy.  His 
mother  was  out  all  day,  whatever  the  weather,  dig- 
ging potatoes  or  carrying  peat  and  furze,  but  Tom 
in  his  hole  was  able  to  put  a  sod  of  peat  on  the  fire, 
and  to  push  the  potatoes  into  the  ashes  with  a  stick 
and  turn  them  about  so  that  each  side  was  well 
roasted. 

One  day,  however,  the  farmer,  for  whom  the 
widow  worked,  gave  her  a  goatskin  from  the  scare- 
crow in  the  middle  of  the  field  and  she  hastened 
home  with  it  so  happy  that  she  skipped,  hippety-hop 
all  the  way.  At  last  she  had  obtained  a  garment 
for  Tom.  When  she  took  Tom  out  of  the  hole  and 
put  on  the  goatskin,  he  was  as  proud  and  delighted 
as  she  was,  and  nothing  would  satisfy  him  but  that 
he  must  go  out  at  once  and  see  what  the  world 
looked  like. 


TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN  117 

He  went  over  the  moor  with  his  red  hair  as  bright 
as  the  sun  and  his  grinning  face,  for  after  being 
brought  up  all  one's  life  in  an  ash  hole,  the  world 
seems  to  be  a  mighty  fine  place. 

But  Tom  did  not  seem  so  fine  a  sight  to  the 
village  at  the  foot  of  the  moor  as  the  village  seemed 
to  him.  Tom  thought  the  tumbled-down  cottages 
were  grand  palaces  and  the  men  and  women  and 
children  finely  dressed,  although  they  wore  their 
workaday  clothes.  It  seemed  very  grand  to  Tom 
to  have  clothes  at  all. 

He  could  not  understand  why  all  the  people  stared 
and  laughed  at  him  and  he  had  no  idea  of  the  funny 
sight  he  made  with  nothing  on  but  his  goatskin. 
Presently  he  saw  the  people  gathering  round  a  rider 
on  horseback  and  pushing  in  among  them  Tom 
heard  the  fine  gentleman  telling  the  people  that 
they  must  all  keep  in  their  houses  for  the  giants 
were  coming  to  steal  their  cattle  and  it  would  go 
ill  with  any  of  the  villagers  who  got  in  their  way. 

Tom  wanted  to  know  what  giants  were  and  was 
told  they  were  powerful  men  who  lived  by  taking 
other  people's  property.  Three  of  them  lived  in  the 
neighbourhood  so  that  the  people  got  little  peace. 


n8  TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN 

"  You  look  such  a  gallant  fellow,  perhaps  you  will 
go  and  settle  their  hash  for  them,"  said  a  woman 
laughing.  "  Tis  because  of  the  giants  the  farmer 
who  hires  your  mother  keeps  so  poor.  So  you  may 
say  'tis  because  of  the  giants  you  have  no  better 
clothes  than  that  old  goatskin.  Why  don't  you  go 
and  show  yourself  to  them  and  ask  what  they  think 
of  you?  Then  perhaps  they  will  leave  us  in 
quiet." 

The  woman  was  laughing  at  Tom,  of  course,  but 
he  grinned  back  at  her  quite  cheerfully  and  said  he 
had  come  out  to  see  the  world  and  would  like  to 
have  a  look  at  the  giants.  So  they  told  Tom  where 
the  giants  stayed  and  off  he  went  to  the  first  one, 
who  lived  in  a  great,  stone  castle,  from  which  a 
brilliant  banner  floated. 

Servants  in  satin  and  cloth  of  gold  stood  in  the 
hall  which  was  hung  with  splendid  tapestries.  The 
servants  tried  to  drive  Tom  away,  telling  him  he 
had  no  business  to  visit  a  giant  in  nothing  but  an 
old  goatskin. 

"  Why  not?  "  cried  Tom.  "  It  is  warm  and  hand- 
some. God  made  it;  and  I  see  some  visitors  yonder 
with  nothing  better  than  skins  on  their  backs." 


TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN  119 

With  this  Tom  pointed  to  the  great  Irish  hounds 
who  were  coming  up  to  make  friends  with  him  and 
without  wasting  any  more  words  on  the  servants, 
Tom  marched  up  to  the  dais  at  the  top  of  the  hall 
where  the  giant  was  sitting  at  dinner.  There  was 
plenty  of  room  and  Tom  was  hungry  so  he  sat  down 
on  the  bench  as  easy  as  anything  and  took  a  great 
bite  from  a  manchet  of  bread  without  saying  so 
much  as  by  your  leave. 

The  giant  was  so  surprised  to  see  Tom  acting 
like  this  that  for  a  moment  he  had  nothing  to  say; 
then  he  bawled  out: 

"Who  let  this  beggar  come  in?  Somebody  drive 
him  away." 

"  Now  never  shall  it  be  said  an  Irishman  turned 
a  friend  from  his  table,"  cried  Tom  as  bold  as  you 
like,  for  having  nothing  else  to  talk  about  in  the  long 
winter  evenings,  his  mother  had  told  him  often  and 
often  what  grandly  wonderfully  hospitable  people 
the  Irish  were. 

"Friend?  You're  no  friend  of  mine,"  said  the 
giant. 

"  Sure,  but  I  am  the  friend  of  every  one  in 
Ireland,"  said  Tom.  "  Even  a  great  fat  man  like 


120  TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN 

you  is  dependent  on  the  womenfolk.  You'll  need  my 
friendship." 

"How  do  you  make  that  out?"  asked  the  giant. 

"  Do  you  dig  your  own  praties?  "  said  Tom. 

"  I'd  be  too  proud  to  do  so,"  said  the  giant. 

"  I'd  be  too  proud  to  let  a  widow  do  it  for  me 
if  I  were  a  big  fat  man,"  said  Tom,  and  gave  the 
giant  such  a  straight  look  he  turned  as  red  as  a 
beet  root.  Well,  Tom  and  the  giant  got  into 
friendly  conversation,  once  the  giant  saw  that  Tom 
was  not  afraid  of  him,  and  before  parting,  the  giant 
promised  he  would  leave  the  village  alone  and  make 
a  call  on  the  giant  who  lived  next  door  to  him, 
instead.  He  also  gave  Tom  a  big  club. 

"  It  will  do  to  knock  down  nuts  with,  finely," 
said  Tom,  and  off  he  went  to  the  next  giant. 

This  giant  lived  in  a  castle  that  was  all  prepared 
for  war.  There  was  a  drawbridge  and  a  moat  and 
cannon,  and  all  the  servants  dressed  up  in  armour 
and  peeping  out  of  the  little  slips  of  windows.  You 
never  saw  such  a  fear-stricken  place,  but  Tom 
marched  in  and  when  the  servants  saw  he  had 
nothing  on  but  a  goatskin,  they  lost  their  fear  of 
him  and  let  him  in.  When  he  came  into  the  giant's 


TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN  121 

presence  there  he  was  red  with  rage,  puffing  and 
stamping  about. 

"Why,  what  are  you  afraid  of?"  said  Tom. 

"  Afraid  ?  "  said  the  giant,  "  I  am  not  afraid  of 
any  one." 

'  Then  why  are  you  covered  with  those  iron  kettle 
lids?  "  said  Tom. 

"  Because  of  my  neighbours,"  said  the  giant. 
"  One  may  come  any  time." 

"  I've  just  left  one  who  is  coming,"  said 
Tom. 

"What?  Where?"  said  the  giant,  stamping 
about  as  if  the  floor  were  red  hot. 

Tom  gave  him  a  straight  look  up  and  down  and 
said  he: 

"  You  take  off  those  kettle  lids  so  that  he  can  see 
you  are  not  afraid  of  him,  then  ask  him  to  dinner 
like  a  grand,  wonderful,  hospitable  Irishman  and 
you'll  have  as  pleasant  an  evening  as  I  have  just 
passed  with  him." 

Well,  the  giant  thought  that  Tom  had  been  given 
this  message  from  the  other  giant  and  he  was  glad 
enough  to  make  peace,  once  he  was  certain  the  other 
giant  meant  no  harm.  He  sent  Tom  away  with  a 


122  TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN 

cake  and  an  apple  and  a  flute  whose  music  made  any 
one  dance. 

Off  went  Tom  to  the  third  giant.  His  castle  had 
all  the  windows  shut  up,  and  inside  the  giant  sat  in 
darkness.  Now  Tom  was  much  too  proud  of  his 
goatskin  to  be  groping  about  with  no  one  able  to  see 
it  and  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  open  the  window 
and  whom  should  they  see  but  the  two  giants  coming 
along?  Well,  then  there  was  a  terrible  hullabaloo, 
if  you  like. 

"  They'll  see  me,  they'll  see  me,"  roared  the  giant. 

"  Yes,  but  if  we  hadn't  opened  the  window,  we 
would  not  have  seen  them,"  said  Tom.  "  What 
sort  of  a  dinner  would  you  have  been  able  to  set 
before  them  then?  Now  you  can  prepare  a  feast 
that  is  worthy  of  a  grand,  wonderful,  hospitable 
Irishman." 

'''  Why,  they  don't  come  as  friends ! "  cried  the 
giant. 

"  Look  at  the  friendly  way  they've  got  their  arms 
tucked  in  each  other's,"  said  Tom,  pointing  through 
the  window. 

Well,  the  giant  obeyed  Tom's  directions,  because 
he  had  got  out  of  the  way  of  thinking  for  himself. 


TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN  123 

and  before  Tom  left,  the  castle  was  smelling  with 
fine  soup  and  pastry  and  chocolate  and  if  Tom 
hadn't  wanted  to  get  back  to  his  mother,  it  would 
have  broken  his  heart  to  go. 

The  giant  gave  Tom  a  fine  pot  of  ointment  with 
which  he  could  rub  himself  over  and  then  nothing 
that  touched  or  struck  him  could  hurt  him.  As 
Tom  went  away,  he  met  the  two  giants  hurrying 
along,  snuffing  the  good  smells  that  were  coming 
from  the  castle,  and  by  the  look  on  their  faces  Tom 
saw  the  three  of  them  would  have  a  jolly  evening, 
feasting  and  exchanging  stories,  instead  of  hiding 
from  each  other  and  heaving  stones  round  the 
corner  whenever  anybody's  head  peeped  out. 

When  Tom  got  to  the  village,  he  told  the  people 
the  giants  were  too  busy  making  friends  with  each 
other  to  trouble  them  and  on  he  went  to  his  mother, 
well  pleased  with  his  first  day  in  the  world. 

Soon  after  this,  the  news  came  to  the  village  that 
the  King  of  Dublin  wanted  nothing  so  much  in  the 
world  as  to  see  his  daughter  laugh  three  times. 
After  Tom's  success  with  the  giants,  every  one  was 
wishful  to  do  a  good  turn  to  him  and  they  came 
"up  to  tell  him  about  it.  Tom  was  ready  enough  to 


124  TOM  OF  THE  GOATSKIN 

go,  for  he  wished  to  see  Dublin,  and  the  villagers 
offered  to  lend  him  a  coat  and  a  kilt  so  that  he 
would  go  decently.  But  Tom  said  he  had  come  into 
the  world  in  a  goatskin  and  he  would  go  to  Dublin 
in  it  and  take  nothing  but  what  belonged  to  him, 
namely,  the  club,  the  flute,  and  the  ointment  he  had 
got  from  the  giants. 

So  off  Tom  went  to  Dublin.  All  the  fine  folk 
at  the  castle  made  fun  of  Tom  when  he  appeared 
and  refused  to  let  him  come  before  the  Princess, 
but  Tom  laid  hold  of  his  club  and  swung  it  this 
way  and  that  so  cleverly  that  he  did  no  more  harm 
than  knock  off  one  man's  bonnet  and  another  man's 
crown.  He  got  right  among  the  dukes  and  earls 
with  his  club  and  they  looked  so  comical  with  their 
crowns  toppling  and  tumbling  and  themselves  put- 
ting up  their  hands  to  save  them,  that  the  Princess, 
who  was  looking  down  from  the  castle  wall,  let  out 
a  great  laugh. 

When  the  King  saw  what  a  great,  strong  fellow 
Tom  was,  he  wondered  if  he  could  conquer  a  fierce 
wolf  which  lived  near  the  castle.  Tom  went  off  as 
cheerful  as  if  he  had  been  going  to  visit  his  mother 
and  came  back  into  the  court-yard  with  the  wolf 


And  as  the  princess  looked  at  him,  she  laughed  for  the  third  time. 


TOM  O'  THE  GOATSKIN  127 

trotting  behind  him  as  meek  as  a  lamb.  Then  Tom 
pulled  out  his  flute  and  that  terrible  wolf  fell  to 
dancing  and  frolicking  so  that  the  Princess  laughed 
until  she  cried. 

Then  said  the  King,  "  I  am  wishful  for  the  Danes 
to  be  driven  out  of  Ireland."  And  Tom  managed 
to  do  that  by  getting  an  iron  flail.  He  made  this 
red-hot,  rubbed  his  hands  with  the  ointment  and 
picked  up  the  flail  and  carried  it  into  the  court-yard. 
But  when  the  people  saw  Tom  coming  carrying  the 
red-hot  flail,  they  were  terrified  indeed  and  the 
Danes  got  news  of  it  and  when  they  met  Brian  Boru 
at  Clontarf  (just  look  on  the  map,  and  see  how  near 
that  is  to  Dublin)  they  had  no  heart  for  battle  and 
got  into  their  ships  as  quickly  as  they  could.  But 
one  of  the  courtiers  who  was  jealous  of  Tom's 
success  said  he  did  not  believe  the  flail  was  really 
hot. 

Of  course  he  burnt  himself  till  he  howled.  Then 
Tom  ran  to  him  and  took  the  man's  hands  in  his,  all 
covered  with  the  ointment,  so  that  he  might  heal 
him,  and  danced  him  about  so  that  the  man's  face 
had  the  funniest  look.  And  as  the  Princess  looked 
at  him  she  let  out  a  great  laugh  for  the  third  time. 


128  TOM  O'  THE  GOATSKIN 

The  King  was  mighty  pleased,  for  he  saw  his 
daughter  had  learned  the  laughing  habit  and  would 
be  cheerful  company  now  for  him  and  for  every  one. 
Tom  seemed  such  a  useful  fellow  to  have  about 
the  court  that  the  King  asked  if  he  would  like  to 
stay.  Tom  said  yes,  if  the  King  would  send  a  wagon 
for  his  mother  and  bring  her  comfortably  and 
settle  her  in  a  little  cottage  where  they  could  have 
a  neighbour  in  to  crack  a  joke,  and  a  bit  of  land 
where  they  could  grow  their  praties.  The  King  was 
pleased  enough  to  do  this,  and  so  that  is  how  Tom 
and  his  mother  came  to  settle  in  Dublin. 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

A  Tale  of  Japan 

A  SPARROW  sat  in  the  peach  tree  belonging 
to  the  home  of  an  old  fisherman  and  his  wife. 
It  was  no  ordinary  sparrow;  that  was  plain  to  see 
from  the  noise  it  was  making.  Cirrup,  shirrup,  chir- 
rup, said  the  sparrow,  over  and  over  again,  as  if 
it  had  really  too  many  things  it  wanted  to  say  and 
so  could  only  splutter  and  chatter  them  all  out 
together.  But  it  sounded  a  very  happy  little  spar- 
row, and  when  the  fisherman's  wife  set  down  a 
bowl  of  smoking  rice  starch  on  the  step,  the  spar- 
row's chatter  almost  turned  into  a  song. 

"All  that  for  me?  How  exceedingly  kind  of  her! 
Kimiko  is  not  usually  so  generous.  I  must  eat  it  up 
while  it  is  hot.  That  will  show  I  appreciate  her 
kindness.  Yes,  yes,  Kimiko  has  a  good  heart  after 

all."     So  saying,  the  sparrow  flew  down  onto  the 

129 


i3o  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

step  and  though  the  bowl  held  a  great  deal  more 
than  it  could  comfortably  hold,  it  did  not  pause 
until  it  had  eaten  so  much  that  it  was  as  round 
as  a  ball.  Then  the  sparrow  hopped  onto  the  lowest 
bough  of  the  peach  tree  and  tried  to  say  all  the  nice 
things  it  was  thinking  about  Kimiko.  Just  then, 
the  household  cat  strolled  round  the  corner  and  lay 
down  on  the  step  for  a  little  snooze.  The  cat  and 
the  sparrow  were  good  friends,  for  the  sparrow  was 
the  favourite  pet  of  the  old  fisherman  and  flew  in 
and  out  of  the  house  whenever  it  pleased. 

"  Never  still,"  said  the  cat  lazily,  as  it  watched  the 
sparrow  fluffing  out  its  feathers.  "  Do  you  never 
grow  weary  of  chattering?" 

"  Oh,  my  friend,"  said  the  sparrow,  delighted  to 
have  a  listener,  "  I  cannot  begin  to  say  all  that  is 
in  my  heart.  I  would  give  anything  to  have  the 
gift  of  human  language  so  that  I  might  tell  my  dear 
friend  Choga,  the  fisherman,  how  much  I  love  him, 
and  this  morning  even  Kimiko  has  been  kind  to  me. 
She  actually  set  out  that  large  bowl  of  rice  starch  for 
me.  Was  it  not  kind?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  my 
heart  is  full  to  bursting?" 

"  No,  I  do  not  wonder  at  all  if  you  put  away  all 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW  131 

that  bowlful,"  said  the  cat.  "  The  only  thing  I  do 
wonder  at,  is  that  you  haven't  burst." 

"  Oh,  my  friend,  it  is  wonderful  what  one  can  do 
for  the  sake  of  friendship,"  puffed  the  fat  little 
sparrow.  "  I  would  not  leave  a  drop,  lest  Kimiko 
should  have  thought  I  did  not  enjoy  it.  Now  she 
will  see  how  I  appreciated  it.  Ah,  here  the  good 
woman  comes.  Let  me  tell  her,  let  me  tell  her," 
and  the  sparrow  set  up  such  a  chattering  that  the 
cat  rose  and  yawned,  for  it  was  impossible  to  so 
much  as  think  of  sleeping  when  a  sparrow  was 
trying  to  say  all  it  felt. 

But  Kimiko,  it  seemed,  had  something  to  say  as 
well.  Directly  she  saw  the  empty  bowl  she  gave 
a  tremendous  squeal,  and  then  if  she  did  not  rush 
at  the  cat  with  her  straw  sandal,  screaming,  "  You 
wicked  thief!  There  you  have  gone  and  stolen  all 
my  beautiful  starch." 

"  No,  no,"  cried  the  well-meaning  sparrow,  flutter- 
ing down  in  a  terrible  state,  "  the  cat  did  not  touch 
it,  Kimiko.  I  thought  you  had  placed  it  there  for 
me,  though  I  had  no  reason  to  look  for  such  a 
generous  act  from  you,  I  confess,  but — " 

"  Oh,  get  out  of  my  way ;  you  are  always  under 


13*  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

my  feet,"  cried  Kimiko,  as  the  sparrow  hopped  and 
fluttered  round  her,  and,  taking  hold  of  it,  she  drew 
out  her  scissors  and  snipped  off  the  tip  of  its  busy 
little  tongue.  '  There,  now  perhaps  you  will  not 
make  such  a  noise,"  cried  Kimiko,  who  was  very 
annoyed  at  having  lost  the  starch  with  which  she 
was  going  to  stiffen  her  husband's  clean  clothes. 

But  judge  of  her  surprise  when  the  sparrow  spoke 
in  a  human  voice.  'What  has  happened?"  gasped 
the  sparrow.  "  Is  it  possible  you  have  given  me  my 
heart's  desire?  Yes;  I  can  utter  words;  my  tongue 
is  no  longer  in  the  way." 

"  Oh,  it  is  bewitched,"  cried  Kimiko,  and  flung  the 
sparrow  from  her  so  that  the  poor  little  creature 
found  itself  on  the  ground. 

"  Oh,  Kimiko,  Kimiko,"  cried  the  sparrow,  "  you 
are  still  as  ugly  as  I  thought  you.  How  my  heart 
bleeds  for  your  husband.  But  I  will  not  stay  where 
I  am  thought  to  be  bewitched.  It  is  you  who  are 
bewitched,  my  poor  Kimiko.  When  you  lose  your 
ugly  thoughts  that  suspect  every  one  of  harming 
you,  I  will  return.  Good-bye,  my  poor  Kimiko. 
Give  my  dear  love  to  Choga  and  tell  him  why  I  have 
left  him." 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW  133 

With  these  words  the  well-meaning  sparrow  flut- 
tered away,  and  Kimiko  was  left  to  boil  her  rice 
starch. 

Kimiko  was  preparing  Choga's  clothes  for  the 
festival  of  the  Peach-blossoming.  Together  they 
were  going  to  walk  beneath  the  flowering  trees,  and 
they  must  naturally  be  as  clean  and  fresh  as  the 
beautiful  pink  and  white  blossoms.  But  now  Kimiko 
had  to  hurry  and  the  clothes  were  not  as  crisp  as 
they  should  have  been,  and  when  Choga  returned 
there  was  scarcely  time  to  eat  their  soup,  and 
change.  She  did  not  say  a  word  about  the  sparrow's 
message,  even  when  Choga  remarked  how  quiet  the 
house  was  and  wondered  where  his  little  friend 
had  gone  to.  It  was  not  until  they  were  returning 
home  late  that  night  that  Kimiko,  who  had  been 
growing  more  and  more  uneasy,  tried  to  explain 
what  had  happened. 

But  when  Choga  heard  that  she  had  actually  cut 
off  the  tip  of  the  tongue  of  his  beloved  sparrow,  for 
what  after  all  had  been  a  very  natural  mistake, 
his  grief  knew  no  bounds. 

'*  Why,  Kimiko,"  said  he,  "  my  sparrow  had  com- 
plimented you  in  thinking  you  more  generous  and 


i34  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

thoughtful  than  you  really  are.1  How  unkind  to 
punish  the  well-meaning  creature!  Now  I  must 
go  and  seek  for  it,  for  it  may  even  have  difficulty 
now  in  eating." 

"  I  should  think  it  would,  and  for  some  days,  too, 
after  gorging  itself  with  that  huge  bowl  of  starch," 
cried  Kirniko,  who  was  still  angry  with  the  sparrow. 

"  Oh,  Kimiko,  I  beg  of  you  to  become  more  com- 
passionate," said  her  husband  sadly,  and  turned 
away  from  their  home  and  went  towards  the  dark 
forest,  for  there  were  many  trees  there,  and  the 
sparrow  sometimes  hopped  away  into  them  and 
remained  there  for  days  together. 

But  though  Choga  called  his  little  friend  again  and 
again,  no  answering  chirp  met  his  ear.  Presently 
he  found  himself  in  a  long  paved  avenue,  gently 
rising  between  great  trees,  then  he  came  to  fifty 
steps  and  climbed  up  and  up  until  he  came  out  onto 
a  great  terrace.  Here  was  the  tiniest  little  house; 
it  was  entirely  made  of  thick  white  paper,  and  as  it 
was  lit  up,  the  shadows  of  the  inmates  could  be 
plainly  seen  as  they  moved  about  the  rooms.  How 
great  was  Choga's  surprise  to  see  that  they  were 
sparrows.  He  went  up  and  tapped  on  the  side  of 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW  135 

the  house;  instantly,  the  screen  slid  open  and  there 
was  his  dear  little  friend,  clad  in  a  gorgeous  kimono 
and  crying  out,  "  Welcome,  dear  Choga,  welcome 
thrice  welcome,  to  my  little  home.  How  often  have 
I  tried  to  tell  you  about  it,  and  to  invite  you  to  visit 
us.  But  now  you  have  found  the  way  to  us  and  I  can 
present  you  to  my  wife  and  daughters  who  long  to 
make  your  acquaintance,  for  I  have  told  them  of 
your  kindness  and  goodness,  and  they  hope  to 
become  as  good  friends  with  you  as  I  am." 

So  saying,  the  side  of  the  house  opened,  and  Choga 
was  just  able  to  get  inside.  Then  he  knelt  down  on 
a  soft  cushion,  while  the  sparrow's  family  hurried  to 
bow  and  welcome  him.  They  laid  delicious  refresh- 
ments before  him,  sugar  jelly,  rock  candy,  sweet 
potato  custard,  and  rice  starch,  sprinkled  with  sugar 
and  flavoured  with  orange-flower  water;  there  were 
little  comfits  too,  with  every  kind  of  seed  you  can 
imagine,  inside  them. 

Choga  sat  and  ate  and  very  much  enjoyed  his 
supper,  for  the  festival  had  been  a  long  one,  and  his 
walk  through  the  forest  had  given  him  a  good 
appetite;  he  was  delighted  too,  to  sit  with  his  little 
pet  and  see  how  comfortable  and  dainty  his  home 


136  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

and  wife  and  children  were.  The  little  sparrows 
were  most  clever.  The  three  little  daughters  could 
play  on  the  samisen,  and  sing  very  prettily,  and  as 
the  sparrow  explained  all  their  chirps,  Choga  could 
enjoy  the  story  they  were  telling.  After  supper, 
they  pushed  away  the  little  table  and  then  the 
sparrow  took  the  samisen  and  cried,  "  I  am  now 
going  to  entertain  you,  my  honoured  friend,  while 
my  family  dance  and  disport  themselves,  to  explain 
the  meaning  of  my  words." 

Oh,  what  a  merry  performance  then  took  place: 
the  little  sparrows  hopped  about,  one  like  a  crab 
and  one  like  a  monkey  until  Choga  laughed  out  loud, 
while  the  sparrow  sang  the  following  funny  tale: 

"A  pink-faced  monkey  and  a  yellow-backed  crab 
once  played  on  a  sandhill  together.  Presently  the 
monkey  found  a  persimmon  seed,  but  the  crab,  dig- 
ging and  delving  with  its  great  claws,  came  upon  a 
whole  rice  dumpling,  and  coming  up  to  the  crab, 
he  held  out  the  persimmon  seed  persuasively. 

'  Dear  friend/  said  the  pink-faced  monkey,  '  be- 
hold what  I  have  found.  If  you  plant  this  seed  it 
will  grow  into  a  great  tree,  and  bear  persimmons 
forever  and  ever  so  that  you  will  be  well  fed  all 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW  137 

your  days.     I   should   like  to   give   you   this   seed 
because  you  are  my  friend  and  I  love  you.' 

'  How  extremely  kind,'  said  the  yellow-backed 
crab.  '  I  have  only  found  this  rice  dumpling  which 
will  be  ended  when  eaten.  Yet,  if  you  care  to  accept 
it,  I  shall  be  highly  gratified.' 

"  You  may  be  sure  the  monkey  gobbled  up  the 
rice  dumpling  quickly  enough  and  the  crab  dug  a 
hole  for  the  persimmon  seed  gratefully.  Hear  now, 
the  story  of  the  patience  of  the  crab.  Day  after  day 
he  watered  the  seed,  and  loosened  the  earth  with  his 
great  claws,  and  took  away  the  stones,  until  a 
persimmon  tree  shot  up  stout  and  tall,  and  at  last 
green  persimmons  appeared,  and  ripened.  Then 
the  crab  looked  up  at  his  tree  and  beheld  no  less 
than  five  persimmons,  his  first  crop.  But  how  to 
get  them  down  again  ?  Then  thought  the  crab  of  the 
pink-faced  monkey  and  hurried  to  find  him. 

" '  Come  and  help  me  gather  my  fruit,'  cried  the 
crab.  '  Willingly,  will  I  share  them  if  you  will  only 
climb  the  tree  for  me  and  gather  them/ 

"  Quickly  the  pink-faced  monkey  hurried  to  obey 
the  crab. 

"  But,   oh  and   oh,   hear   now   the   greed   of  the 


138  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

monkey.  When  he  had  climbed  the  tree  and  picked 
the  persimmons,  he  put  each  one  into  his  cheek,  and 
when  the  crab  begged  him  to  throw  down  two,  the 
pink-faced  monkey  only  jeered  and  cried,  '  For  those 
who  have  the  skill  to  climb  a  tree,  the  fruit  must  be/ 

"  Hear  now  the  cunning  of  the  crab ! 

"  '  Skill  indeed  you  have/  said  the  crab,  '  but  there 
are  some  things  you  cannot  do,  for  all  your  boasting/ 
'  Anything  a  monkey  can  do,  I  can  do/  cried  the 
pink-faced  monkey  from  his  lofty  perch.  The  five 
persimmons  were  now  all  safely  stored  away  in  the 
monkey's  cheeks.  And  the  crab  said,  '  Oh,  pink-face, 
you  cannot  descend  the  tree  head  downwards/ 

"  At  this,  the  monkey  threw  himself  down  and 
began  to  descend  head  foremost. 

" '  Behold  me ! '  cried  the  monkey.  And  as  he 
opened  his  mouth,  of  course  all  the  persimmons 
dropped  out  and  the  crab  seized  them  and  scuttered 
away  to  his  hole.  Yet  do  I  rejoice  to  tell  that  the 
crab  left  three  for  the  monkey,  his  promised  share, 
for  the  noble  must  never  descend  to  the  level  of 
the  base,  and  he  who  keeps  his  word,  helps  the 
trickster/' 

Choga  was  delighted  to  hear  such  fine  sentiments 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW  139 

from  the  little  sparrow  who  seemed  to  become  more 
dignified  and  honourable  every  minute,  and  rose  to 
make  his  good-byes,  saying  once  more  how  sorry  he 
was  Kimiko  had  lost  her  temper  so  rudely. 

But  the  sparrow  waved  its  wing  courteously  and 
answered,  "  Kimiko  with  her  scissors  has  made  me 
able  to  be  a  better  friend  to  you  and  her;  let  us  not 
reproach  her.  We  have  to  forgive  all  injuries  and 
no  injury  can  harm  those  who  bear  no  resentment. 
Forgiving  blesses  the  one  who  forgives." 

So  saying,  the  sparrow  signalled  to  his  family  who 
entered,  bearing  two  boxes  which  they  set  down 
before  Choga. 

"  Here  is  a  farewell  gift,"  said  the  sparrow. 
"  Many  a  gift  have  you  bestowed  on  me,  Choga,  and 
I  would  like  you  to  carry  something  home  as  a 
token  of  this  visit,  although  I  cannot  return  to  you 
until  Kimiko  has  changed  her  thoughts.  The  more 
kindness  we  can  show  to  her,  however,  the  quicker 
will  she  do  this,  so  pray  take  one  of  these  boxes 
to  her,  and  tell  her  I  have  sent  it  for  you  both  in 
exchange  for  the  rice  starch  of  which,  I  inad- 
vertently deprived  her."  Now  one  of  the  boxes  was 
small  and  one  was  very  large;  Choga  chose  the  small 


i4o  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

one  because  he  did  not  wish  to  impose  on  the 
sparrow's  hospitality.  Then  off  he  went,  all  the 
sparrows  fluttering  beside  him  to  the  top  of  the 
steps,  bidding  him  good-bye,  and  saying  how  much 
they  had  enjoyed  his  company. 

When  he  came  home,  Kimiko  was  waiting  up,  and 
inclined  to  be  angry,  but  when  the  box  was  opened, 
they  saw  it  was  full  of  gold  and  jewels,  enough  to 
support  them  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

Now  grateful  indeed  was  Choga  to  the  well- 
meaning  sparrow,  but  Kimiko  did  not  seem  wholly 
pleased,  and  went  to  bed  rather  silent.  Presently, 
Choga  felt  some  one  wake  him  up,  and  there  was 
Kimiko. 

"  I  cannot  help  thinking  how  stupid  you  were  not 
to  take  the  large  box,"  said  she.  '  Wake  up  and 
dress  and  go  right  back  to  the  sparrow,  and  say 
Kimiko  would  prefer  the  large  one." 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Choga.  "  If  you  want  the 
large  box,  you  must  go  yourself  for  it.  I  am  very 
well  satisfied  with  the  gift  the  sparrow  has  made 
to  us  and  I  shall  keep  it  and  be  grateful." 

Well,  Kimiko  bothered  and  begged  and  cried,  but 
Choga  would  not  budge,  so  when  the  morning 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW  141 

dawned  Kimiko  got  up  and  went  herself  to  seek 
the  sparrow. 

Kind  was  the  welcome  she  received,  for  the  spar- 
rows thought  Kimiko  had  come  to  say  she  was 
sorry,  and  hastened  to  lay  a  fine  feast  before  her. 
But  when  the  sparrow  took  up  the  samisen  to  sing, 
Kimiko  stopped  him  hastily  and  said  she  must  now 
be  going  back  to  her  home.  "  I  will  just  take  the 
large  box  my  husband  left  behind  him,"  said  Kimiko, 
and  thus  let  out  the  reason  of  her  visit. 

The  sparrows  said  nothing,  but  politely  brought 
in  the  large  box,  and  Kimiko  went  away,  so  pleased 
at  having  it,  she  even  forgot  to  thank  them.  But  the 
large  box  was  terribly  heavy  and  the  steps  were 
long.  When  Kimiko  reached  the  bottom  step  she 
sat  down  to  rest  and  as  the  box  was  beside  her 
thought  she  would  cheer  herself  up  by  looking  at 
its  contents.  So  she  opened  the  lid;  but  instead  of 
gold  and  jewels  there  was  nothing  inside  but  pebbles. 

So  angry  was  Kimiko,  she  did  not  know  what  to 
do. 

Just  then,  whom  should  she  see  coming  but  Choga, 
who  was  afraid  she  would  find  the  way  long  and 
tiring  without  him. 


i42  THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW 

When  Kimiko  saw  her  husband  coming,  suddenly 
she  was  touched  by  his  kindness,  and  then  she 
thought  of  the  sparrow's  kindness  to  both  of  them, 
and  her  hard  heart  melted  and  she  burst  into 
tears. 

"  How  ungrateful  I  have  been,"  she  sobbed.  "  Not 
only  to  the  sparrow,  honourable  husband,  but  to  you 
who  bear  so  kindly  with  my  ugly  temper.  I  should 
have  respected  and  welcomed  the  sparrow  if  only 
that  he  was  your  honourable  friend." 

Then  Choga  dried  her  tears  and  assured  her  that 
he  would  rather  have  Kimiko  repentant  than  twenty 
boxes  full  of  gold. 

"  Besides  we  have  more  than  we  can  possibly 
use,"  said  he,  as  they  walked  home  together.  "  Our 
wants  are  simple  and  I  do  not  intend  to  grow 
idle." 

"  I  care  nothing  for  the  gold  and  jewels,"  said 
Kimiko.  '  The  only  thing  I  want  is  to  see  you 
happy  and  your  little  friend  the  sparrow  hopping 
about  the  house  again.  Ever  since  it  went,  the  place 
has  seemed  as  silent  as  the  tomb." 

Judge  then  of  Kimiko  and  Choga's  joy,  when,  on 
coming  in  sight  of  the  peach  tree,  they  heard  the 


THE  TALKATIVE  SPARROW  143 

well-known  notes  of  the  sparrow  crying  out,  "  Wel- 
come home! " 

Yes!  He  had  returned  to  his  dear  friend  Choga, 
and  ever  afterwards  shared  his  days  equally  between 
his  family  home  and  the  fisherman's  hut. 


CAP  O'  RUSHES 

A  Tale  of  England 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  gentleman  who 
lived  in  Sussex;  he  had  three  daughters,  Mary, 
Elisabeth,  and  Rose.  They  were  good  girls,  and 
fond  of  their  needle,  but  for  every  three  stitches 
Rose  put  into  her  work,  her  sisters  put  one.  Mary 
played  on  the  spinet  and  Elisabeth  was  a  wonderful 
singer  and  knew  so  many  ballads  that  no  one  had 
ever  been  able  to  count  them:  but  Rose,  she  just  sat 
there  embroidering  a  muslin  gown  with  a  posy  of 
every  flower  in  the  garden,  for  when  she  was  not 
sewing,  Rose  dearly  loved  to  prune  and  water  and 
snip  her  flowers  and  she  was  wishful  to  finish  the 
gown  for  the  Harvest  Home  when  her  father  made 
a  grand  feast  and  invited  all  the  neighbours.  As  the 
summer  waned,  the  sisters  had  to  prepare  for  the 
feast,  and  Mary  made  pastries  and  sweetmeats,  and 
Elisabeth  made  cakes  and  comfits,  but  they  had  to 
call  for  Rose  to  cut  out  the  gold  leaf  and  fruit  paste, 

145 


i46  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

and  make  pretty  knots  and  flowers  on  their  goodies; 
and  when  it  was  time  to  go  out  into  the  meadows 
and  gather  boughs  and  garlands,  for  the  hall,  Rose 
was  the  one  to  weave  them  together,  and  &ose  it  was 
who  pulled  the  bays  and  rosemary  to  strew  in  the 
chambers  and  guest-rooms.  She  was  up  betimes, 
but  with  here  a  stitch  and  there  a  stkch,  her  gown 
was  finished. 

And  so  the  Harvest  came.  The  sheaves  were  car- 
ried, and  the  grain  was  garnered  and  the  hay  was 
stacked :  the  garrets  were  full  of  fruit  and  roots,  and 
the  great  hall  thronged  with  guests  and  servants, 
when  the  gentleman  called  to  his  three  daughters 
and  bade  them  make  'merry  with  the  company. 
Mary  played  on  the  spinet  and  Elisabeth  danced  till 
every  one's  eyes  were  round  as  O,  and  then  the 
gentleman  told  his  daughters  to  stand  forth  before 
the  company.  They  came  up  to  the  dais  where  he 
sat,  accordingly;  Mary  and  Elisabeth  in  their  fine 
satin  gowns,  one  pink  as  a  peach,  one  pale  as  a  lily, 
and  Rose  in  her  white  lawn,  which  her  fingers  had 
enriched  with  dainty  stitches,  and  it  would  be  hard 
to  say  which  looked  the  prettiest. 

But  when  their  father  beheld  Rose's  simple  gown, 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  147 

his  brow  darkened,  for  she  did  not  look  as  hand- 
somely clothed  as  the  others. 

"  Now,"  said  the  gentleman,  "  my  barns  are  full, 
and  my  garrets  and  cellars;  but  here  stand  the 
treasures  I  value  most  dearly,  and  to  show  you  all 
what  good  affectionate  girls  these  be,  I  will  ask  you, 
dear  Mary,  how  much  you  love  me?" 

"  Better  than  my  life,"  said  Mary  as  pink  as  a 
peach. 

"  Why,  that  is  a  good  answer,"  said  the  gentle- 
man. "  And  how  much  do  you  love  me,  dear  Elisa- 
beth?" 

"  Better  than  the  whole  world,"  said  Elisabeth,  as 
pale  as  a  lily. 

"  Why,  that  is  a  famous  answer,"  said  the  gentle- 
man, and  then  he  turned  to  Rose  in  her  simple  mus- 
lin gown  that  her  clever  ringers  had  made  pretty, 
and  said,  "  And  how  much  do  you  love  me,  dear 
Rose?" 

But  instead  of  the  fine  answer  he  expected, 
"  Better  than  fresh  meat  loves  salt,"  said  Rose,  and 
blushed  as  red  as  her  namesake. 

At  this  answer  every  one  in  the  hall  burst  out 
laughing,  for  it  was  so  different  from  anything  they 


i48  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

thought  she  would  say,  and  she  looked  such  a  shy, 
blushing,  little  maid. 

"  What !  "  cried  the  gentleman,  "  you  would  shame 
me  before  my  neighbours  and  friends?  If  you  love 
me  no  better  than  that,  get  out  of  my  house,  for 
I'll  call  you  no  daughter  of  mine." 

Now  maybe,  if  Rose  had  stayed  quiet  till  the 
morning,  he  would  have  forgiven  her,  but  Rose 
always  said  what  she  meant,  no  more  and  no  less, 
and  took  it  that  every  one  else  did  the  same. 

Out  she  went,  therefore,  just  as  she  was,  while 
the  rest  of  the  company  feasted,  and  ran  along  the 
high-road,  not  knowing  where  to  go  or  what  to  do 
with  herself,  now  she  was  turned  out  in  the  twin- 
kling of  a  jiffey,  from  her  home. 

She  walked  up  hill,  and  through  dale,  until  clouds 
gathered  and  big  drops  of  rain  began  to  fall,  and 
there  she  was  in  her  fine  lawn  gown  and  nothing  to 
cover  it. 

But  beside  the  road,  ran  a  stream  where  rushes 
were  growing,  and  Rose  stooped  down  and  gathered 
a  lapfull,  and  soon  wove  a  fine  cap  to  cover  her  hair 
and  a  cloak  to  cover  her  gown.  Her  pretty  face 
peeped  out  from  under  a  thatch  of  rushes  so  that 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  149 

she  looked  as  if  she  was  walking  about  in  a  little 
hut.  Her  curly  brown  hair  was  covered  up,  and  no 
one  would  have  guessed  this  queer  figure  was  a  rich 
gentleman's  daughter.  But  she  was  safe  from  the 
rain  and  wind,  and  the  rushes  made  a  pleasant 
shivery  noise  as  she  ran  along,  and  now  she  was  all 
covered  up  like  this,  she  did  not  feel  so  shy. 


A  great  house  standing  back  from  the  road  with  high  yew  hedges 

all  around  it. 

Presently  she  saw  a  great  house  standing  back 
from  the  road  with  high  yew  hedges  all  round  it, 
and  she  crept  along  by  the  hedge  till  she  found  a 
lowly  gate,  on  which  was  written,  "  Servants'  En- 
trance." Rose  went  in  here,  and  knocked  at  the 
kitchen  door. 

How  the  servants  laughed  when  they  saw  her 
standing  there  in  her  cap  o'  rushes. 


150  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

"  But,  I  haven't  anywhere  to  go,"  said  she,  "  and 
I  ask  no  wages,  and  I  can  do  all  the  work  that  no 
one  else  likes  doing  if  you  will  let  me  come  in  and 
give  me  a  roof  over  my  head  and  a  bite  and  sup  now 
and  then." 

"What  are  you  dressed  out  like  that  for?"  said 
the  cook,  as  well  as  she  could  for  laughing. 

"  So  that  I  can  do  the  dirty  work,"  said  Rose. 
"  I've  no  fear  of  messing  these  clothes,  and  when 
they  wear  out  I  can  fetch  a-plenty  more  from  the 
river." 

"  It  would  be  nice  to  have  her  clean  the  pots,"  said 
the  cook,  and  another  maid  said,  "  And  to  rake  out 
the  ashes,"  and  another  said,  "  And  to  polish  the 
pewter,"  so  they  told  her  to  come  in. 

She  would  give  no  name  so  they  called  her  Cap  o' 
Rushes,  and  after  they  were  tired  of  teasing  her,  she 
settled  down  comfortably  enough,  for  they  gave  her 
a  tiny  room  under  the  stairs  with  a  cupboard  in  the 
wall  where  she  laid  by  her  fine  muslin  gown,  un- 
seen of  any  one,  and  the  kitchen  window  overlooked 
the  herb  patch,  and  a  thousand  sweet  scents  came  in 
to  cheer  her  as  she  rubbed  the  pots  and  pans.  What 
a  sight  of  them  there  were,  blue  and  brown  and 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  151 

red  and  russet,  of  good  Sussex  earth  and  glazed  with 
as  rich  and  ripe  a  colour;  there  were  jugs  with  posies 
of  flowers  on  them,  and  fine  big  mugs  for  the  maids 
and  men  to  drink  out  of,  and  Cap  o'  Rushes  took 
pride  and  pleasure  in  the  pots  on  the  dresser  and  the 
pans  on  the  wall.  She  scrubbed  the  lids  of  the  pans 
till  they  shone  like  mirrors  and  all  the  maids  could 
see  their  faces  in  them,  and  she  cleaned  the  bricks 
till  they  looked  as  fresh  as  wet  fishes;  and  she  kept 
the  hearthstones  red  and  cleaned  out  the  oven  after 
every  baking;  and  when  the  cap  and  the  cloak  of 
rushes  grew  soiled,  she  would  run  to  the  stream  for 
a  bath  and  come  back  in  fresh  rushes.  But  she 
would  never  say  a  word  about  who  she  was  or 
where  she  came  from. 

One  day  there  came  news  that  a  grand  ball  was 
to  be  given  at  a  big  house  nearby,  and  the  servants 
had  permission  to  go  across  the  downs,  and  slip  in  to 
the  gallery  where  the  minstrels  played  and  have  a 
sight  of  the  grand  doings.  They  were  all  busy, 
using  the  saucepan  lids  for  mirrors,  and  tying  on 
ribbons  and  fixing  posies  on  their  bodices,  until  the 
kitchen  looked  like  a  bed  of  flowers;  the  only  servant 
who  did  not  dress  up  was  Cap  o'  Rushes,  and  she 


152  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

slipped  away  to  her  little  room  and  the  servants 
thought  she  was  tired  and  went  off  without  her. 

But  Cap  o'  Rushes  was  washing  herself  and  plait- 
ing her  hair;  and  when  the  house  was  quiet  and  not 
so  much  as  the  cat  was  left  (for  the  cook  had  car- 
ried it  under  her  arm  to  see  the  sights),  Cap  o' 
Rushes  took  out  her  beautiful  gown  and  slipped  into 
it.  Then  she  put  on  her  cap  and  cloak  of  rushes  and 
ran  over  the  down  in  the  dusk,  and  if  any  one  saw 
her,  he  thought  her  an  old  woman  maybe.  When 
she  reached  the  big  house,  the  lights  were  shining 
in  the  windows,  and  the  music  was  playing  sweet 
and  lively,  and  Cap  o'  Rushes  flung  off  cap  and 
cloak  and  laid  them  under  a  mulberry  tree  beside 
the  kitchen  door. 

There  was  not  a  soul  about  for  all  were  watching 
the  dancers,  but  when  Cap  o'  Rushes  was  looking 
for  the  staircase  to  the  servants'  gallery,  who  should 
come  by  but  a  fine  young  man,  no  other  than  her 
Master's  son.  He  took  her  for  a  guest,  and  asked 
her  to  dance  with  him,  and  the  music  was  so  sweet 
and  lively,  she  could  not  say  no.  So  he  led  Cap  o' 
Rushes  out  into  the  ballroom  and  every  one  was 
surprised  to  see  so  fine  a  lady  in  so  beautiful  a 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  153 

gown.  As  for  the  Master's  son,  when  he  danced 
with  her  and  saw  the  pretty  posies  on  her  gown, 
each  worked  as  neatly  as  if  it  were  growing  there, 
he  could  not  say  enough,  and  when  he  heard  Cap  o' 
Rushes  had  embroidered  every  stitch,  he  cried  out 
at  such  industry  and  said  she  was  surely  the  clever- 
est lady  he  had  ever  met,  as  well  as  the  fairest.  He 
was  so  pleased  with  her  looks,  and  liked  her  quiet 
ways  so  well,  he  danced  with  her  till  the  time  came 
for  the  supper.  In  the  confusion  and  the  crowd,  as 
all  left  for  the  supper-room,  Cap  o'  Rushes  slipped 
her  hand  from  his  arm,  and  turned  through  a  little 
side  door  and  ran  out  of  the  house;  there  she  picked 
up  her  cap  and  her  cloak  and  ran  home  by  the  light 
of  the  big  red  moon.  She  was  in  her  own  little  room 
and  fast  asleep  when  the  servants  returned  from  the 
ball,  full  of  talk  of  the  lady  in  the  wonderful  gown, 
patterned  with  a  hundred  posies,  whom  the  Master's 
son  had  danced  with  and  whose  name  none  knew. 

When  they  came  down  in  the  morning,  Cap  o' 
Rushes  was  scrubbing  the  pails,  and  had  to  listen 
to  their  chatter,  for  of  course  they  thought  she  knew 
nothing  about  the  ball. 

"  You  did  miss  a  sight,  Cap  o'  Rushes,"  said  they. 


154  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

"  The  sweetest  lady  in  the  world  was  there,  with  a 
gown  that  took  all  eyes.  Would  I  were  a  lady  like 
her,  with  nothing  to  do." 

"  Something  to  do  is  better  than  nothing  to  do, 
to  my  thinking,"  .said  Cap  o'  Rushes,  splashing  her 
pails  till  they  shone  like  dew. 

"  Ah,  but  Cap  o'  Rushes,  as  she  danced,  the  sweet- 
est scents  floated  out  of  the  flowers  on  her  gown,  till 
one  would  say  one  was  in  a  garden." 

"  Sweet  smells  come  out  of  clean  saucepans,"  said 
Cap  o'  Rushes,  "  when  sweet  herbs  go  into  them." 

"  What,  Cap  o'  Rushes,  do  you  think  yourself  as 
good  as  she  ?  "  said  they. 

"  I'm  as  satisfied  to  be  me  as  she  is  to  be  she,"  said 
Cap  o'  Rushes  and  that  was  all  they  could  get  out 
of  her. 

Next  week  there  was  another  ball,  and  all  the 
servants  went  off  to  see  it,  but  Cap  o'  Rushes  stayed 
behind.  Then  she  washed  herself  and  plaited  her 
hair  and  put  on  her  fine  lawn  gown  and  covered 
herself  with  her  cap  and  cloak  of  rushes  and  ran  over 
the  downs.  She  slipped  off  her  cloak  and  cap  and 
hid  them  under  the  mulberry  tree,  and  then  she 
walked  in  as  bold  as  anything  to  the  dancing-hall. 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  155 

The  Master's  son  was  there  looking  out  for  her,  and 
directly  she  appeared,  lie  came  to  her,  and  they 
danced  together  again. 

"  I've  been  thinking  of  those  pretty  posies  on  your 
gown  ever  since  I  saw  you,"  said  he.  "  Why,  there 
seem  more  flowers  than  I  can  count.  It  would  take 
a  whole  evening  to  look  at  each  one,  and  each  is 
prettier  than  the  other." 

So  they  danced  together  all  evening  and  talked  of 
the  flowers  and  she  told  him  the  names;  pansy  and 
lily  and  daffydowndilly ;  and  cowslip  and  oxlip  and 
daisy  and  violet  and  gilly;  and  carnation  and  rosebud 
and  ever  so  many  more.  She  had  put  a  posy  of 
lavender  on  one  sleeve  and  a  posy  of  rosemary  on 
the  other,  and  she  had  put  a  posy  of  moss  rosebuds 
over  her  heart.  It  was  plain  she  loved  every  flower 
and  herb  in  the  garden  and  the  Master's  son  said 
he  had  long  been  looking  for  a  maid  of  simple  tastes. 

But  when  they  were  all  trooping  into  supper,  she 
let  go  of  his  arm  and  lagged  behind  and  slipped  out 
of  the  side  door,  and  picked  up  her  cap  and  cloak 
of  rushes  and  ran  away  home. 

She  was  safe  in  her  bed  and  asleep  when  the 
servants  came  back,  and  when  they  came  down  next 


156  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

morning,  there  she  was,  rinsing  her  milkpails,  as 
fresh  as  a  lark. 

"  Oh,  Cap  o'  Rushes,  you  did  miss  something  last 
night,"  they  cried. 

"  What  was  that?  "  said  Cap  o'  Rushes. 

"  The  lady  was  there  again,  and  looking  better 
than  ever.  One  couldn't  see  how  pretty  her  gown 
was  in  one  evening;  I  wish  I  were  a  fine  lady  and 
had  gowns  with  posies  worked  on  them." 

"  Any  one  can  make  posies  on  her  gown,"  said  Cap 
o'  Rushes,  "  as  long  as  she  has  fingers." 

"  Not  like  that,"  cried  the  servants.  "  I  wish  I 
could  lie  a-bed  all  day  and  dance  all  night  as  ladies 
do." 

"  I  lie  a-bed  all  night  and  dance  all  day,"  said  Cap 
o'  Rushes,  and  as  they  cried  out,  "  You  dance  all 
day?"  she  said,  "Some  dance  with  their  toes  and 
same  dance  with  their  fingers,"  and  truly,  the  way 
Cap  o'  Rushes  was  polishing  the  pails  made  her 
fingers  dance  right  deftly. 

"  You  still  think  yourself  as  good  as  she,  then," 
said  the  servants,  and  Cap  o'  Rushes  said  what  she 
had  said  before:  "  I'm  as  satisfied  with  me  as  she  is 
with  she." 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  157 

Next  week  there  was  another  ball,  and  again  the 
servants  trooped  off  in  good  time,  eager  to  see  the 
fine  lady,  and  again  Cap  o'  Rushes  stayed  behind 
till  they  had  gone,  then  washed  herself  and  plaited 
her  hair  and  put  on  her  gown  with  the  posies;  she 
covered  herself  up  with  the  cap  and  and  cloak  of 
rushes  and  ran  all  the  way  there,  and  slipped  them 
off  and  put  them  under  the  mulberry  tree,  and  then 
she  marched  into  the  dancing-hall  and  there  was 
the  Master's  son  standing  at  the  door,  waiting  for 
her. 

This  time,  as  he  danced  with  her,  he  told  her  he 
had  found  out  something  about  her. 

"What  is  that?"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes. 

"You're  faithful,"  said  the  Master's  son,  "and 
you  have  good  sense,"  said  he,  "  and  whom  you  love, 
you  love  truly." 

"  How  did  you  find  that  out?  "  said  Cap  o'  Rushes. 

"  You're  faithful  to  your  pretty  gown,"  said 
the  Master's  son,  "  the  other  ladies  change 
their  fine  clothes  for  every  ball,  and  are  not 
content  to  wear  the  same  gown  twice;  but 
you  have  worn  yours  three  times.  That  shows 
good  sense,  for  the  more  I  look  at  it,  the  more  I 


158  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

like  it;  and  it  shows  you  love  truly,  that  you  do  not 
grow  tired  of  the  pretty  posies  you  have  worked  with 
such  patience;  and  so  we  can  have  the  pleasure  of 
looking  at  them  again  and  again." 

"  Those  are  good  reasons,"  said  Cap  6'  Rushes 
sweetly,  "  but  nobody  ever  grows  tired  of  flowers, 
so  I  do  not  see  why  it  is  any  great  thing  not  to 
grow  tired  of  their  pictures." 

"  I  wish  I  had  a  picture  of  you,"  said  the  Master's 
son.  "Will  you  never  tell  me  your  name?" 

Cap  o'  Rushes  just  shook  her  head  and  looked 
very  sweet. 

"  Well,  here  is  a  ring,"  said  the  Master's  son. 
"Will  you  take  it?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes,  and  pulled  a  sprig  of 
rosemary  from  her  hair  and  gave  it  to  him  in  ex- 
change. 

"  Now  you  will  not  run  away  from  me  to-night," 
said  the  Master's  son,  but  Cap  o'  Rushes  did  not  say 
yes  or  no,  and  when  every  one  trooped  into  supper, 
she  let  go  his  arm,  lagged  behind,  slipped  out  of  the 
little  door  and  put  on  her  cap  and  cloak  from  under 
the  mulberry  tree.  But  the  Master's  son  was  quicker 
to-night,  and  she  had  hardly  put  on  her  cap  and 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  159 

cloak  of  rushes,  when  he  was  out  of  the  side  door 
looking  for  her. 

Cap  o'  Rushes  slipped  round  the  mulberry  tree 
and  bent  nearly  double;  then  she  hobbled  away 
across  the  downs  and  the  Master's  son  passed  her 
and  never  noticed  her,  so  full  were  his  thoughts  of 
the  fine  lady  in  her  posy  gown.  When  he  was  out 
of  sight,  Cap  o'  Rushes  ran  faster  than  the  wind  and 
was  safe  in  her  little  room  and  in  bed  when  the 
servants  returned. 

Next  morning  they  found  her  polishing  the  sauce- 
pan lids  as  fresh  as  a  daisy,  and  said  they  to  her, 
"  Oh,  Cap  o'  Rushes,  you  did  miss  something  last 
night,  and  you'll  miss  it  now  for  ever,  for  the  dances 
are  over  and  you'll  never  have  a  chance  to  see  the 
fine  lady.  When  she  went  out  of  the  room,  it  was 
as  if  the  sun  had  gone  out.  I  wish  I  were  a  fine 
lady  to  be  missed  like  that." 

"  Ah,  you'd  miss  me  if  I  were  to  go,"  said  Cap  o' 
Rushes,  becoming  a  little  more  saucy,  now  she  heard 
how  well  every  one  spoke  of  her. 

"How  do  you  mean?"  said  they. 

'  Your  pans  wouldn't  shine  as  they  do  now,"  said 
Cap  o'  Rushes.  "  'Tis  as  if  the  sun  has  gone  out  of 


160  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

the    kitchen    when    I    take    them    down   from    the 
wall." 

Well,  they  all  told  Cap  o'  Rushes  she  was  no 
match  for  the  fine  lady,  but  Cap  o'  Rushes  said  again, 
"  I  am  as  satisfied  with  me  as  she  is  with  she,"  and 
as  there  was  no  contradicting  her,  they  had  to  leave 
it  at  that. 

But  that  evening,  the  cook  came  down  in  a  fluster 
and  said,  "  Oh,  Cap  o'  Rushes,  I  want  your  cleanest 
saucepan." 

'  Why,  supper  is  over,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes,  very 
surprised. 

"  But  Master's  son  has  come  back  from  searching 
the  woods  and  downs  for  the  fine  lady,"  said  the 
cook,  "  and  sore  at  heart  and  heavy  of  heart  he  is 
because  he  cannot  find  her,  so  his  mother  has  sent 
down  to  ask  for  some  good  hot  gruel." 

"  Let  me  make  it,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes.  "  Gruel 
needs  a  sight  of  stirring  and  you  have  been  cooking 
all  day." 

'  There's  no  one  who  stirs  more  carefully  than 
you,"  said  the  cook.  "  I'll  be  glad  for  you  to  do  it 
while  I  eat  my  own  supper." 

So  Cap  o'  Rushes  made  the  gruel,  and  poured  it 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  161 

into  a  porringer,  and  then  she  dropped  a  slip  of  rose- 
mary therein  to  give  it  flavour,  and  weighted  it  down 
with  the  ring  the  Master's  son  had  given  her  the 
night  before  at  the  ball. 

Then  she  slipped  into  her  little  room  and  put  on 
her  fine  gown  with  the  posies,  and  then  she  put  her 
cap  and  cloak  of  rushes  over  it  and  went  back  to  the 
kitchen  looking  just  the  same.  Presently  down  came 
one  of  the  maids,  saying  the  Master's  son  wanted  to 
see  the  cook.  Dear,  but  she  was  frightened. 

"  You  must  have  let  the  gruel  burn,"  said  she,  and 
was  in  a  dreadful  state,  not  wishing  to  get  Cap  o' 
Rushes  into  trouble,  and  yet  not  liking  to  take  the 
blame  on  herself,  for  she  was  a  good  cook  and  proud 
of  her  cooking. 

But  when  she  got  upstairs  the  Master's  son  was 
pacing  up  and  down  the  dining-room  for  all  he  had 
come  home  so  tired,  and  directly  he  saw  the  cook,  he 
cried,  "Who  made  that  gruel?" 

"  'Twas  I,"  said  the  cook,  in  a  terrible  fluster. 

"  'Twas  not,"  said  the  Master's  son.  "  Say  who  it 
was  and  you  shall  have  this  purse  of  gold." 

"  It  was  Cap  o'  Rushes,"  said  the  cook. 

"Who's  Cap  o'  Rushes?"  cried  the  Master's  son. 


1 62  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

"  I  don't  rightly  know,"  said  the  cook,  "  but  she's 
down  in  the  kitchen."  At  that,  up  jumped  the 
Master's  son  and  went  down  the  stair  quicker  than 
the  cook  could  follow  him. 

"Where's  Cap  o'  Rushes?"  said  he,  and  there  she 
was,  scrubbing  the  saucepan  the  gruel  had  been 
made  in. 

"  Here,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes,  though  she  had  no 
need  to  say  it  for  all  could  see  at  once  who  wore 
such  a  cap. 

"Where  did  you  get  this  ring?"  cried  the 
Master's  son,  showing  it. 

"  From  him  who  gave  it  me,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes, 
looking  at  him  very  steadily.  When  he  saw  her 
pretty  face  peeping  out  of  the  rushes,  he  began 
to  guess,  and  as  all  the  servants  were  standing 
round  with  their  eyes  popping  out  of  their  heads, 
Cap  o'  Rushes  threw  back  her  cap  and  cloak,  and 
there  she  was  in  the  pretty  gown  covered  with 
posies. 

How  every  one  marvelled  at  seeing  her  among 
them  like  that,  and  the  Master's  son  led  her  upstairs 
to  his  mother  who  was  very  kind  to  her  and  said  Cap 
o'  Rushes  would  make  a  fine  wife. 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  163 

So  a  marriage  was  quickly  called  for,  and  a  great 
feast  ordered,  for  which  invitations  were  sent  far 
and  near,  even  to  Cap  o'  Rushes'  father.  But  she 
did  not  say  a  word  about  who  she  was.  On  the  day 
before  the  feast,  she  went  down  to  the  kitchen,  and 
said  to  the  cook,  "  I  want  you  to  dress  all  the 
dishes  without  salt." 

"Not  a  pinch?"  said  the  cook,  very  surprised. 

"  Not  the  least  little  grain,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes. 

"  Why,  that  will  make  everything  taste  very 
nasty,"  said  the  cook.  "  Everything  will  taste  of 
nothing  at  all." 

"  That  doesn't  signify,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes. 

"  Please  yourself,"  said  the  cook,  and  prepared  the 
wedding  dinner  without  any  salt. 

Well,  after  they  were  married,  the  feast  began, 
and  first  one  dish  was  passed  and  then  another,  but 
a  nastier,  queerer  meal  no  one  had  ever  tasted. 

"Why,  there's  no  salt,"  said  the  Master's  wife, 
and  the  Master  said,  "There's  nothing  fit  to 
eat." 

But  at  this  Cap  o'  Rushes  looked  at  her  father. 
He  had  been  served  with  one  dish  and  then  another, 
and  another,  and  now  he  pushed  them  all  away  and 


1 64  CAP  O'  RUSHES 

burst  out  sobbing.  Every  one  asked  what  was  the 
matter  and  he  cried :  "  I  once  had  a  daughter  and 
asked  her  how  much  she  loved  me  and  she  said,  "  As 
much  as  fresh  meat  loves  salt,"  so  I  thought  she  did 
not  love  me  at  all  and  turned  her  out  of  my  house. 
Now  she  has  vanished  from  my  sight  for  ever  and 
great  harm  may  have  come  to  her,  and  I  know  she 
loved  me  best  of  them  all." 

"  Indeed  she  did,"  said  Cap  o'  Rushes,  and  threw 
back  her  wedding  veil  so  that  her  father  could  see 
her,  and  there  was  his  own  dear  daughter.  What  is 
more,  there  she  was  in  the  gown  with  the  posies 
which  he  had  despised,  for  she  had  vowed  and  de- 
clared she  would  be  married  in  no  other. 

Then  there  was  great  rejoicing,  and  the  cook  came 
forward  and  asked  permission  to  serve  them  another 
dinner.  "  For,"  said  she,  "  I  have  prepared  one  all 
ready,  for  I  knew  fresh  meat  would  be  nothing  with- 
out salt." 

There  was  more  rejoicing  at  this,  and  all  went 
without  a  single  hitch.  Nor  did  Cap  o'  Rushes  stay 
out  of  the  kitchen  after  she  married,  but  ruled  well 
and  wisely  over  the  great  house,  and  taught  the 
maids  to  work  posies  on  their  gowns,  and  next  time 


CAP  O'  RUSHES  165 

there  was  a  ball,  every  one  danced  together  and 
there  was  no  peeping  from  corners.  "  For,"  said 
Cap  o'  Rushes,  "  one  cannot  have  too  many  to  share 
a  good  thing." 


(T  '•F'V 


A  Tale  of  Korea 

^f  "WO  Korean  schoolboys,  Whang  and  Yoo,  were 
I  talking  about  opportunity.  Said  Whang,  "  I 
shall  not  wait  for  opportunity  to  come  to  me. 
Wherever  I  go,  I  intend  to  display  my  talents  so 
that  all  will  notice  me  and  then  I  shall  be  certain 
of  promotion  and  success." 

"  In  the  Book  of  Sages,  it  is  written  that  oppor- 
tunity comes  when  we  least  expect  it,"  said  Yoo. 
"  If  you  are  forever  seeking  notice,  it  seems  to  me 
you  are  forever  hunting  after  opportunity,  and  then, 
so  the  Book  of  Sages  tells  us,  opportunity  never 
shows  herself." 

"Not  at  all,"  said  Whang.  "I  shall  never  lose 
an  opportunity  of  displaying  my  cleverness  which 
as  you  know,  is  remarkable." 

Now  this  was  perfectly  true;  Whang  was  a  good 

167 


i68  HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME 

scholar  and  had  great  talent,  but  so  had  Yoo. 
Whang  was  a  great  reader  and  loved  to  think  deeply 
and  find  out  the  reason  of  everything,  where  Yoo 
was  clever  at  stringing  words  together  making 
jokes.  But  the  dispositions  of  the  two  boys  seemed 
opposed  to  their  talents.  Whang,  the  thinker,  was 
fond  of  public  parties  and  assemblies  where  he  could 
air  his  learning;  and  Yoo  was  a  quiet  fellow,  content 
to  do  his  tasks  and  never  seeking  to  be  noticed. 
They  were  very  good  friends,  however,  and  were 
now  leaving  school  and  going  to  college.  But  when 
the  time  came  to  leave,  they  did  not  travel  together. 
Yoo  went  straight  there  in  his  father's  country  cart, 
but  Whang  preferred  to  walk  there  so  that  he  might 
mingle  with  the  people  on  the  road,  and  talk  with 
the  strangers  in  the  wayside  pavilions  or  rest-houses. 
In  the  course  of  his  journey  Whang  found  himself 
in  one  of  these  and  amused  himself  by  reading  the 
poems  that  were  written  on  scrolls  and  hung  on 
the  walls  for  the  refreshment  and  entertainment 
of  the  passersby. 

As  he  stood  there  with  his  hands  behind  his  back, 
an  old  man  entered  and  presently  Whang  cast  a 
patronising  remark  at  him. 


HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME  169 

"  Well,  granddad,  can  you  appreciate  the  flavour 
of  verses  such  as  these  ?  " 

The  old  man  rose  humbly  from  the  mat,  on  being 
addressed,  and  said,  "  How  can  you  expect  an  old 
man  like  myself  to  know  anything?  Will  you  not 
tell  me  the  meaning?" 

Then  said  Whang,  "  These  verses  were  written  by 
the  great  men  of  the  past.  What  they  saw  and  ex- 
perienced, they  wrote  down  to  inspire  us.  They 
made  pictures  of  sea  and  land,  for  there  are  living 
pictures  in  poetry." 

The  old  man  expressed  his  admiration  for 
Whang's  cleverness  and  condescension,  but  at  that 
moment  up  came  a  train  of  pack-horses  with  serv- 
ants and  retainers,  bearing  tent-poles  and  canvas 
packs  in  a  great  procession.  Whang  was  delighted 
to  see  this  great  audience,  and  hurried  to  the  gates 
to  meet  them  but  though  they  halted,  no  one  came 
in  and  he  asked  why  they  were  standing  there.  In 
this,  they  told  him,  they  were  waiting  for  the  great 
minister,  the  most  learned  man  in  all  Korea,  Maing- 
Sa-song,  who  was  resting  therein.  Overcome  with 
dismay  at  his  impertinent  conceit,  Whang  dropped 
on  his  knees  before  the  old  man,  who  laughed  and 


170  HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME 

said,  "  That  will  do.  There  is  no  difference  in  the 
worth  of  men;  they  are  high  or  low,  according  to  the 
thoughts  that  prompt  them,  but  alas,  we  have  all 
been  born  with  a  proud  heart.  You  have  shown  you 
are  a  good  scholar;  why  should  you  be  so  proud 
then  and  so  humble  now?" 

With  this  the  minister  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
led  him  to  his  mat  and  comforted  him. 

But  when  Whang  arrived  at  college  and  met  his 
friend  Yoo,  he  could  not  cease  from  deploring  his 
lost  opportunity. 

"  Had  I  only  known  who  he  was,  I  could  have  im- 
pressed him  with  my  wisdom,"  wailed  Whang, 
"  but  as  it  was,  he  merely  saw  me  as  an  impertinent 
boy  and  condescended  to  me." 

"  Ah,  well,  opportunity  is  ever  knocking  at  the 
door,"  said  Yoo.  "  Even  now  you  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  show  wisdom,  by  thinking  no  more  about 
something  that  cannot  be  mended.  If  you  had  only 
been  content  to  be  yourself,  however,  and  had  not 
been  seeking  to  impress  every  one  you  met,  Maing- 
Sa-song  would  have  gotten  into  conversation  with 
you  and  would  then  have  soon  found  out  your  learn- 
ing. We  are  always  known  for  what  we  are,  be  sure 
of  that." 


HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME  171 

When  they  had  been  there  a  year,  a  picnic  was 
arranged  at  which  many  people  of  importance  would 
be  present,  and  Whang  was  greatly  excited  at  the 
thought  of  the  fine  opportunity  this  would  be  to 
make  himself  conspicuous.  His  year  of  college  had 
taught  him  much  and  he  hoped  some  high  official 
would  observe  his  gifts  and  give  him  a  good  posi- 
tion. But  when  the  day  came,  Yoo  noticed  that  all 
the  students  of  the  college,  and  masters  and  the 
servants  were  getting  ready,  and  found  that  no  one 
was  to  be  left  at  home.  Now  in  the  college  was  a 
sacred  temple,  and  Yoo  did  not  feel  it  was  right  to 
leave  it  with  no  one  in  charge;  therefore,  without 
saying  a  word  to  any  one,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
a  meddler  or  spoil  sport,  he  quietly  stayed  behind. 

This  very  day,  however,  the  King  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  see  if  the  college  and  temple  were  in  proper 
keeping,  who  returned  to  say  the  whole  place  was 
deserted  and  there  was  no  one  in  charge  but  a  raw 
country  lad.  The  King  sent  the  messenger  back  to 
bring  Yoo  at  once,  telling  him  to  come  in  his  every- 
day clothes  just  as  he  was,  so  as  to  lose  no  time. 
Then  the  King  asked  why  he  had  stayed  away  from 
the  picnic,  and  was  pleased  when  Yoo  said  it  was 
because  he  was  the  least  important  of  any  one  and 


172  HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME 

so  would  be  the  least  missed.  The  King  then  asked 
if  Yoo  knew  how  to  write  verses,  and  though  this 
was  the  subject  Yoo  excelled  at,  he  answered 
modestly  that  he  only  knew  a  very  little  about  it. 
The  King  then  gave  him  a  line,  "  After  the  rain,  the 
mountains  weep,"  and  told  him  to  write  a  mate  for 
it  and  Yoo  instantly  replied,  "  Before  the  wind,  the 
grass  is  merry." 

The  King  was  delighted  with  his  ready  wit,  and 
made  him  a  graduate  on  the  spot.  Then  the  King 
gave  him  his  diploma,  flowers  for  his  hat,  and  a  red 
coat  and  issued  a  proclamation,  saying  Yoo  had 
passed  the  examination.  He  then  commanded  Yoo 
to  mount  one  of  the  royal  palfries,  and  go  to  the 
picnic  as  a  victorious  candidate.  How  surprised 
Whang  and  every  one  was,  when  Yoo  appeared, 
riding  on  horseback,  with  flute  and  harp-players 
escorting  him,  garlanded  with  flowers.  They  won- 
dered who  was  the  grand  stranger  dressed  in  his 
ceremonial  robes,  and  then,  going  up  to  him,  found 
it  was  Yoo  to  whom  opportunity  had  come  while 
he  was  performing  the  simple,  lowly  service  of 
being  on  guard  at  the  temple. 

Soon  after  this,  Yoo  was  given  the  post  of  secre- 


HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME  173 

tary  at  the  royal  palace,  but  in  spite  of  Whang's 
cleverness,  no  post  was  found  for  him,  even  when 
he  had  graduated  brilliantly.  He  lingered  in  Seoul 
for  some  time,  until  at  last  he  despaired  of  gaining 
office,  and  sought  the  palace  where  his  friend  Yoo 
lived. 

"  You  have  proved  to  be  right  and  I  wrong,"  said 
Whang,  "  although  I  have  gone  out  of  my  way  to 
seek  opportunity  for  advancement,  nothing  has 
come  of  it.  But  as  you  said  once,  we  always  have 
the  opportunity  of  practising  the  virtues.  Instead  of 
railing  at  fate  and  bewailing  its  injustice,  I  have  now 
the  opportunity  to  show  noble  acceptance  of  the 
situation.  I  can  also  find  many  opportunities  of 
being  useful  in  my  home  village  and  there  I  shall 
return  to-morrow,  as  the  opportunity  to  gain  dis- 
tinction and  success  is  plainly  not  coming  to  me. 
Before  I  go,  however,  I  beg  you  to  grant  me  my 
heart's  desire  and  let  me  have  a  peep  at  the  palace 
which  I  shall  never  have  a  chance  to  see  again." 

To  this  Yoo  willingly  agreed,  and  told  Whang  to 
return  that  evening  when  Yoo  would  show  him 
round. 

But  when  Whang  returned  that  night,  Yoo  had 


i74  HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME 

been  called  away  and  there  was  no  one  to  show  him 
anything.  He  waited  until  he  found  the  gates  of  the 
royal  enclosure  had  been  shut  for  the  night  so  he 
could  not  get  out.  Taking  pity  on  Whang's  plight, 
however,  one  of  the  other  secretaries  showed  him  a 
corner  where  he  could  stay  concealed  till  morning, 
when  he  would  be  able  to  slip  out  unnoticed.  But 
it  was  such  a  beautiful  night,  Whang  could  not  sleep : 
besides  now  he  was  in  the  enclosure,  he  longed  to  see 
the  palace.  So  presently  he  stole  out  into  the  court- 
yard; part  of  the  wall  had  fallen  in  the  heavy  rains 
and  Whang  made  his  way  through  into  a  little 
park.  Soon  he  perceived  a  man  coming  towards 
him,  carrying  a  staff  of  carven  jade,  and  reading  a 
book.  He  asked  Whang  what  he  was  doing  in  the 
grounds  of  the  palace  at  such  an  hour,  and  Whang 
told  him,  without  deceit  or  concealment.  The  man 
then  began  to  talk  with  Whang  and  gradually  drew 
from  him  the  story  of  his  search  for  opportunity. 

"  But  now  it  cannot  come  to  me  for  I  leave  for  my 
little  village  to-morrow,"  said  Whang  sorrowfully. 
"  Although  as  my  friend  Yoo  would  tell  me,  I  shall 
have  wonderful  opportunity  there  of  being  patient 
and  contented." 


HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME  175 

The  man  then  asked  Whang  if  he  had  studied 
the  Book  of  Changes,  and  Whang  replied  that  he 
had  done  so. 

"Do  you  understand  it?"  said  the  man. 

"At  one  time,  I  should  have  answered  yes,"  said 
Whang  with  a  mournful  smile,  "  but  now  I  am 
going  away  and  shall  have  no  more  chance  to  study 
in  a  library,  I  realise  how  little  I  know  of  it,  and  how 
much  there  is  I  want  to  know." 

At  that,  the  man  invited  him  to  enter  a  summer- 
house  that  stood  near,  and  showed  Whang  the  Book 
of  Changes  which  he  was  reading,  and  looked  up  a 
part  which  he  found  difficult.  Whang  explained 
it  with  convincing  clearness;  then  the  man  showed 
Whang  another  part,  and  then  another,  and  they 
read  and  talked  all  through  the  night  till  dawn. 
Then  Whang  rose  and  said  he  must  be  going,  and 
the  man  sighed  and  said,  "  All  this  knowledge  and 
to  think  it  has  never  been  made  use  of.  Alas,  for 
my  country." 

Whang  asked  if  his  new  friend  could  open  the 
gates  for  him,  but  the  man  said  he  could  not,  and 
Whang  must  go  back  to  the  corner  where  he  had 
been  hidden  and  wait  till  it  was  broad  daylight  and 


176  HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME 

the  gates  were  thrown  open  when  he  could  go  in 

safety. 

So  Whang  bade  him  good-bye  and  departed,  and 
when  it  was  daylight  the  gates  were  opened  and 
Whang  went  out  to  his  lodging.  But  as  he  passed 
along  the  street,  he  beheld  a  procession  coming, 
wherein  rode  a  man  calling  out  the  new  proclama- 
tion the  King  had  just  issued.  Whang  stood  by  the 
roadside  while  they  passed,  when  what  should  he 
hear  but  his  own  name.  The  proclamation  said  that 
the  King  had  appointed  Whang  to  be  Overseer  of 
Literature. 

He  hurried  to  his  lodging  and  found  it  was  true. 
All  his  friends  were  running  to  congratulate  him 
and  already  there  was  a  hubbub,  so  they  said,  that 
so  great  an  office  had  been  given  to  so  obscure  a 
person.  The  next  day  Whang  heard  that  the  offi- 
cials had  gathered  together  in  the  public  court  to 
protest  about  it,  and  the  King  had  said  if  they  were 
so  opposed  to  it,  Whang  should  not  have  it. 

But  the  next  day  a  proclamation  was  issued  ap- 
pointing Whang  to  a  still  higher  office.  Again  the 
officials  held  a  meeting  and  again  the  King  said, 
"  Very  well,  if  you  are  so  opposed,  I'll  drop  the 


HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME  177 

matter."  But  the  next  day  a  proclamation  was 
issued  appointing  Whang  to  the  office  of  Vice- 
President  of  the  College  of  Literature.  Then  the 
officials  did  not  know  what  to  do,  for  they  said  to 
each  other,  "  If  we  object,  the  King  will  make  him 
President."  They  made  no  more  objections,  there- 
fore, and  a  great  banquet  was  arranged  to  which 
Yoo  and  Whang  were,  of  course,  invited. 

But  how  surprised  was  Whang  to  see  his  friend  of 
the  summerhouse  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  to 
recognise  in  him,  the  King  himself.  Then  the  King 
produced  the  Book  of  Changes,  and  calling  up  the 
officials,  asked  them  to  explain  the  parts  which 
he  had  showed  to  Whang. 

But  not  one  of  them  could  make  any  sense  of  it, 
and  at  last  the  King  told  Whang  to  come  forward 
and  placed  the  book  in  his  hands,  when  Whang  ex- 
plained every  passage  in  so  clear  a  way,  that  every 
one,  even  the  officials,  could  understand  it. 

Then  the  King  said,  "  This  is  the  great  Book  of 
the  Sages  and  any  one  who  understands  it,  ought 
to  be  promoted.  Why  then  do  you  object  to 
Whang's  promotion?  You  may  as  well  cease  ob- 
jecting, for  I  intend  to  promote  him  more  and  more." 


178  HOW  OPPORTUNITY  CAME 

That  evening,  as  Yoo  and  Whang  walked  home 
together,  talking  of  the  wonderful  change  in 
Whang's  fortunes,  Yoo  said  with  joy,  "  Has  not  the 
Book  of  Sages  once  more  been  proved  true?  For 
when  you  sought  for  opportunity  to  advance,  oppor- 
tunity remained  hidden,  but  when  you  gave  up  the 
quest,  and  determined  to  do  your  duty  contentedly, 
and  patiently,  behold,  opportunity  hurried  to  show 
itself,  and  as  one  may  say,  came  knocking  at  your 
door." 

"  And  yet  I  envied  you  the  opportunity  that  came 
to  you,"  cried  Whang.  "  How  foolish  I  was,  for  I 
now  see  we  are  indeed  known  for  what  we  are, 
and  opportunity  to  show  what  we  know  will  safely 
come  to  every  one  of  us  when  we  are  humble  enough 
to  receive  it.  For  when  I  sought  for  opportunity, 
I  believe  I  was  really  only  seeking  for  reward  and 
praise,  and  as  you  have  so  often  told  me,  opportunity 
to  excel,  to  learn,  and  to  practise  all  the  virtues,  is 
ever  present." 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

A  Tale  of  Norway 

A  POOR  widow  and  her  little  son  found  them- 
selves alone  in  the  world  and  forced  to  earn 
their  living.    The  boy  was  too  small  to  be  useful  to 


any  one  but  his  mother;  he  could  pick  up  the  bits 
of  thread  from  the  floor  when  she  was  sewing  and 

179 


i8o  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

find  her  scissors  and  blow  the  fire  when  the  wood 
burned  low,  but  he  could  neither  read  nor  write 
and  his  mother  dearly  wished  him  to  have  a  fine 
education  like  the  other  boys  who  lived  nearby. 

So  one  day  she  packed  up  her  needle  and  thimble 
and  all  they  had  in  the  world — which  was  little 
enough — and  took  him  by  the  hand  and  trudged 
away  from  their  little  cottage  along  the  mountain 
road  until  they  reached  the  town. 

The  town  nestled  snugly  by  the  side  of  a  fjord  and 
the  water  ran  up  from  the  sea,  deep  and  blue.  Great 
ships  sailed  to  the  quay  and  anchored  there  until  a 
forest  of  masts  seemed  to  rise  from  the  water.  The 
widow  told  her  little  lad  that  these  ships  went  all 
over  the  sea  to  far  countries,  where  crimson  and 
purple  birds  flew  in  the  rigging  and  sweet  spices 
and  fruits  grew  by  the  shore  and  fine  people  dressed 
in  gold  and  silver  welcomed  the  sailors  and  brought 
their  goods  aboard  in  exchange  for  the  timber  of 
Norway. 

The  little  lad  had  never  seen  such  a  wonderful 
sight  and  longed  to  go  out  on  those  white  decks  and 
pull  at  the  ropes  and  see  the  white  sails  flapping 
over  his  head  as  the  wind  got  into  them  and  blew 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY  181 

the  ship  along  to  strange  far  places.  But  his 
mother  said  he  first  must  have  education  and  they 
trudged  through  the  streets  while  she  looked  for 
work.  At  last  they  came  to  the  Lord  Mayor's 
house.  He  was  a  kind  man  and  when  she  told  her 
story  he  said  his  wife  was  looking  for  some  one  to 
embroider  the  house  linen  and  mend  the  children's 
clothes.  So  he  sent  for  the  Lady  Mayoress  to  see 
what  she  had  to  say. 

Directly  that  good  woman  came  into  the  room  and 
saw  the  little  lad,  with  his  fair,  shining  face,  as  clean 
as  a  white  cherry,  and  his  little  frock  with  the 
scarlet  cross-stitch  and  his  knitted  socks  and  birch- 
bark  shoes,  she  said  she  would  be  only  too  glad  if 
his  good  mother  would  stay  with  them  and  help  to 
keep  the  Lady  Mayoress'  children  as  neat  and  good- 
looking  as  her  own. 

"  The  little  lad  shall  play  with  my  own  children 
and  go  to  school  with  them,"  said  the  Lady  Mayor- 
ess. There  was  the  lad's  education  provided  for, 
because  his  mother  had  done  her  best  with  her 
clever  fingers  and  kept  him  a  credit  to  her  and 
himself. 

So  the  widow  and  the  little  lad,  whose  name  was 


1 82  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

Olaf,  settled  down  in  the  Lord  Mayor's  house  and 
lived  off  the  fat  of  the  land.  They  worked  hard,  the 
widow  at  her  sewing  and  the  little  lad  at  his  school- 
ing, for  both  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  they 
would  have  a  home  of  their  own  again  and  knew 
nothing  but  honest  work  would  earn  it  for  them. 

Time  went  on,  and  one  day  the  schoolmaster  came 
to  the  widow  and  said  it  was  time  Olaf  was  put  to 
a  trade.  He  had  studied  so  well  that  he  was  at  the 
top  of  the  class.  Then  the  Lord  Mayor  and  the 
Lady  Mayoress  and  the  widow  and  the  schoolmaster 
put  their  heads  together.  One  said  Olaf  must  be  a 
parson  and  another  said  Olaf  must  be  a  lawyer,  and 
another  said  he  must  have  a  stool  in  the  Lord 
Mayor's  countinghouse  and  his  own  mother  cried 
out  he  must  be  a  farmer  up  on  the  mountain  where 
their  own  little  home  used  to  be.  Suddenly,  in 
walked  Olaf  and  stood  in  the  middle  of  them  and 
said  he  was  going  to  be  a  sailor  and  go  to  sea  in 
one  of  those  bright  big  ships  as  cabin  boy. 

Well,  they  talked  this  way  and  that  way  and  told 
him  of  the  storms  and  how  cruel  it  would  be  for 
him  to  be  parted  from  his  mother,  but  Olaf  would 
hear  nothing  of  it.  At  last  his  own  mother  saw  the 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY  183 

boy's  heart  was  set  on  it  and  he  must  have  his  way; 
and  so  Olaf  was  taken  to  one  of  the  ships  and  set 
aboard.  He  waved  good-bye  to  his  mother  and  off 
he  went,  never  to  see  the  town  again  for  many  and 
many  a  long  day. 

The  ship  sailed  round  Norway  first  of  all,  and  one 
day  when  it  was  in  one  of  the  fjords  that  run  far 
inland,  with  great  mountains  rising  up  on  either  side, 
news  came  that  a  great  preacher  had  come  to  the 
town  on  the  shore  and  all  the  crew  went  off  to  hear 
him  the  next  Sunday  morning.  Olaf  was  left  alone 
on  board  to  clean  the  ship  and  cook  the  dinner 
against  the  time  when  the  captain  and  the  crew 
would  be  back  again. 

Olaf  was  cheerful  enough,  for  it  was  the  first  time 
he  had  been  left  to  take  care  of  the  big  ship.  Being 
a  little  lad,  he  liked  to  feel  important.  So  he  swished 
the  decks  until  they  were  as  shining  as  the  sea,  and 
swabbed  the  boatsides  until,  amid  all  his  swishing 
and  swabbing,  he  heard  some  one  calling.  At  first 
he  thought  it  was  some  seabird,  but  presently  he 
found  it  was  coming  from  an  island  and  he  could 
just  see  somebody  standing  and  waving  as  if  in 
distress.  Well,  the  ship  was  clean  and  he  bad  set  the 


1 84  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

pot  aboil  in  the  galley,  so  he  thought  he  might  as 
well  take  the  ship's  boat  that  was  left  and  row  over 
to  lend  a  hand  to  a  fellow-creature. 

When  he  got  to  the  island,  whom  should  he  see 
but  an  old  lady,  with  a  face  as  bright  as  an  apple 
and  hair  as  white  as  cherry  blossoms!  She  was 
hopping  up  and  down  in  her  joy  when  she  saw  Olaf 
bringing  his  little  boat  across  the  water  to  her,  and 
when  he  ran  into  shore  and  grounded  on  the  firm, 
white  sand,  she  ran  down,  saying:  "Here  have  I 
been  standing  bawling  and  calling  for  years  and  no 
one  has  ever  heard  or  heeded  me  but  you.  Row  me 
to  the  other  side  of  the  fjord  where  my  sister's  house 
stands  on  yon  mountain  and  I  will  repay  you  with 
my  good  wishes  and  my  sister  will  give  you  some- 
thing, too." 

"  Why,  I  have  the  dinner  to  get,"  said  Olaf,  "  but 
if  'tis  only  to  the  mountain  yonder,  I  can  take  you 
across  while  the  pot  is  boiling." 

The  old  lady  was  jumping  into  the  boat  before  he 
had  time  to  get  his  words  out.  Before  he  had  ended, 
he  found  the  boat  spinning  over  the  little  dancing 
waves  as  though  a  breeze  was  wafting  it. 

As  they  went  across,  the  old  lady  said :  "  Now,  my 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY  185 

sister  will  tell  you  you  may  have  anything  you 
choose  to  ask  for,  but  ask  for  the  old  tablecloth 
from  the  dresser." 

"  Why,  that  will  be  payment  enough,"  said  Olaf. 
"  It  will  be  fine  to  have  a  cloth  to  put  on  the  table 
in  the  cabin  and  make  it  look  like  home." 

The  old  woman  said  nothing,  but  smiled  in  a 
funny  way  and  when  they  reached  land,  she  hopped 
ashore  and  called  to  Olaf  to  run  up  with  her.  Her 
sister's  house  stood  by  the  water's  edge,  so  they 
were  soon  there,  and  out  came  another  old  woman 
with  a  face  as  rosy  as  a  pear  and  her  hair  as  white 
as  hawthorn  snow.  She  led  Olaf  into  the  kitchen, 
where  were  all  manner  of  cakes,  comfits,  sausages, 
and  nuts  and  apples,  but  he  shook  his  head  when 
she  offered  the  dainties  in  a  great  basket,  much  as 
they  tempted  his  stomach,  and  said,  No,  he  would 
not  rob  her  of  them;  he  would  just  take  the  old 
tablecloth  from  the  dresser. 

"  Food  tastes  all  the  better  when  a  cloth  is  on  the 
table,"  said  Little  Olaf,  "  and  when  the  crew  comes 
back  from  church,  it  will  be  good  to  sit  down  to 
my  stew  with  that  nice  red  cloth  beneath  our 
porringers." 


1 86  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

"  Well,"  said  the  second  old  woman,  "  you  never 
thought  of  asking  for  that  by  yourself,  but  you  are 
a  good  lad,  so  here  it  is."  And  she  gave  him  the 
cloth  with  her  blessing.  Off  he  ran  down  to  his 
boat,  but  who  should  follow  but  the  first  old  woman, 
and  now  she  wanted  to  be  taken  to  her  second 
sister  who  lived  on  another  little  island. 

"  But  I  have  to  think  of  my  dinner,"  said  Olaf. 

"  No  harm  will  come  to  that,"  said  the  old  woman. 
'  The  parson  is  still  preaching,  for  you  can  look 
across  and  see  the  church  door  is  still  closed.  Row 
me  across  and  I  will  give  you  my  good  wishes  and 
my  sister  will  give  you  anything  you  ask  for;  only 
mind  you  ask  for  the  old  sword  that  hangs  over  the 
chest.  It  shuts  up  like  a  knife  and  you  can  put  it  in 
your  pocket." 

Well,  it  was  plain  the  people  were  not  out  of 
church  yet  and  the  crew  would  not  be  back,  so  Olaf 
rowed  her  over  to  the  island.  This  was  covered 
with  spruce  fir,  growing  down  to  the  water,  and  a 
tiny  hut  with  a  roof  thatched  with  turf  stood  here. 
Out  of  it  came  an  old  lady  with  a  face  as  pink  as  a 
cranberry  and  hair  like  pear-blossoms.  She  led 
Olaf  into  her  hut,  which  was  full  of  sweetmeats  and 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY  187 

conserves  in  pretty  glass  bottles,  but  he  would  have 
none  of  the  fine  basketful  she  offered  him,  but 
said  politely  he  would  not  rob  her,  he  would  but 
ask  for  the  rusty  old  sword  that  hung  above  the 
chest. 

'  That  will  be  of  more  use  to  me  than  to  you," 
said  he,  "  for  when  we  go  in  foreign  parts,  I  may 
find  occasion  for  it." 

'  Well,"  said  the  second  old  woman,  "  you  never 
thought  to  ask  for  that  by  yourself,"  but  she  gave  it 
to  him,  and  Olaf  went  off  to  his  boat.  Just  as  he  was 
getting  in,  however,  who  should  leap  into  it  but  the 
first  old  woman !  And  now  she  wanted  Olaf  to  row 
her  to  her  third  sister  who  lived  across  the  water  the 
other  side  of  the  fjord,  where  the  rocks  towered  up 
to  the  sky.  Well,  Olaf  had  done  a  good  deal  of 
rowing,  but  he  was  not  a  bit  tired,  and  as  there  was 
still  no  sign  of  the  captain  or  the  crew,  Olaf  agreed 
to  take  her  this  last  trip,  for  the  old  woman  promised 
this  should  really  be  the  last. 

Off  they  went,  therefore,  to  where  the  great  rocks 
overhung  the  water  dark  and  solemn,  and  there,  out 
came  her  third  sister  with  a  face  like  a  peach  and 
hair  like  silver,  from  a  hut  upon  the  shore,  and 


1 88  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

begged  Olaf  to  come  in  and  choose  whatever  he 
liked  best  for  payment.  But  as  they  stepped  ashore 
the  first  old  woman  whispered:  "Choose  Granny's 
old  hymn-book." 

Now,  when  they  got  to  the  hut,  Olaf  did  feel 
tempted  to  ask  for  a  drink,  for  the  hot  sun  had  made 
him  thirsty  and  the  most  delicious-looking  cordials 
and  homemade  wines  stood  there.  The  third  old 
woman  was  filling  him  a  basket  with  the  pretty- 
coloured  flasks,  but  he  said  he  would  prefer  Granny's 
old  hymn-book.  The  third  old  woman  nodded  her 
head  as  if  she  were  very  pleased  and  said  he  had 
chosen  the  best  gift  she  possessed.  Then  he  went 
down  to  the  boat  and  with  him  went  the  first  old 
woman  to  say  good-bye  and  tell  him  that  the  old 
tablecloth  had  but  to  be  spread  on  an  honest  table 
or  good  earth,  and  it  would  furnish  any  food  he 
needed;  and  the  sword,  if  he  used  the  black  edge, 
would  make  anything  topple  down,  and  if  he  used 
the  white  edge  would  make  anything  stand  up;  and 
the  hymns  in  the  hymn-book,  if  sung  by  pure  lips, 
would  make  any  sick  person  well. 

Then  Olaf  rowed  back  and  got  to  the  ship  to  find 
the  pot  boiling  merrily  and  the  little  dog  frisking 


The  Boys  Who  Left  Trouble  Behind 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY  189 

about  and  no  sign  yet  of  the  captain  or  crew.  So 
he  just  spread  a  bit  of  the  tablecloth  on  the  deck, 
and  behold,  it  was  covered  instantly  with  food,  and 
Olaf  and  the  little  dog  ate  every  scrap  and  then 
Olaf  gave  the  dog  a  gentle  tap  with  the  black  edge 
of  the  sword  and  the  dog  toppled  down,  and  he 
touched  him  with  the  white  edge  and  immediately 
the  dog  jumped  up.  But  as  there  was  no  one  sick 
aboard  he  could  not  try  the  hymn-book. 

Well,  he  stowed  away  all  these  fine  gifts  in  his 
locker,  except  the  tablecloth,  which  he  laid  on  the 
ship's  table.  When  the  captain  and  the  crew  came 
back,  there  was  the  finest  dinner  you  ever  saw,  wait- 
ing for  them.  Very  pleased  they  were  with  Olaf. 
And  then  they  sailed  out  into  the  great  ocean  to  go 
to  foreign  parts. 

They  sailed  and  sailed  and  encountered  great 
storms,  and  at  last  came  to  a  strange  country  where 
spices  and  strange  sweet  flowers  and  fruits  grew 
along  by  the  water's  edge.  There  were  fine  trees 
where  monkeys  and  parrots  screamed  and  frolicked. 
The  ship  drew  up  at  a  marble  quay  with  palaces 
rising  from  it  and  people  walking  about  dressed  in 
gold  and  silver,  just  as  Olaf  s  mother  had  described 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

to  him  when  he  was  a  tiny  boy.  But  every  one 
seemed  miserable,  and  presently  they  saw  a  fine 
gentleman  coming  to  the  ship,  dressed  out  in  a 
floating  cloak  stiff  with  jewels  and  wearing  a  gold 
crown.  This  was  the  King  and  he  ran  down  to  the 
ship  and  cried  out,  "  Is  there  any  one  aboard 
who  could  cure  my  daughter?  She  is  sick  unto 
death." 

Every  one  was  very  sorry  for  him  and  said  no, 
there  wasn't. 

But  the  King  said,  "  Is  there  any  one  aboard  who 
is  not  standing  there  on  deck?"  and  they  said, 
"  Yes,  a  little  cabin  boy." 

"  Fetch  him,"  cried  the  King,  and  the  captain 
told  Olaf  to  come  up.  But  when  Olaf  came,  he 
carried  Granny's  old  hymn-book  under  his  arm, 
and  when  the  King  asked  if  he  could  cure  his 
daughter,  Olaf  said  he  thought  he  could. 

Then  the  captain  was  so  angry  with  what  he 
thought  was  Olaf's  foolish  boasting  that  he  stamped 
and  stamped  with  anger,  but  he  did  not  dare  forbid 
Olaf  s  going,  because  the  King  was  there.  Olaf  got 
off  the  ship  and  ran  alongside  of  the  King  to  the 
palace.  Then  the  King  took  Olaf  into  the  Princess's 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY  193 

room,  and  there  she  was  lying  white  and  still,  just 
a  little  girl,  and  Olaf  opened  the  old  hymn-book  and 
began  to  sing  the  first  hymn  he  clapped  eyes  on. 
By  the  time  he  had  finished  the  first  verse,  the 
Princess  opened  her  eyes  and  smiled,  by  the  time 
he  had  finished  the  second,  she  raised  her  arm  and 
yawned  as  if  she  were  waking,  and  by  the  time  he 
finished  the  third,  she  sat  up  and  asked  why  every 
one  was  looking  at  her  that  way. 

Great  were  the  rejoicings  when  she  ran  down  the 
palace  steps  perfectly  well,  and  the  King  begged 
Olaf  to  stay  with  them  awhile.  So  Olaf  did.  But 
one  day  some  enemies  of  the  King  came  to  make 
war  on  him  and  Olaf  ran  amongst  them  with 
his  sword  and  toppled  them  over.  Then  he  touched 
them  all  with  the  white  edge  as  they  lay  on  the 
ground  and  up  they  got,  very  ashamed  of  having 
been  so  wicked  and  silly  as  to  come  and  make  war. 
Of  course  the  King  forgave  them  and  as  they  were 
all  away  from  their  homes  and  very  hungry,  he 
wished  to  feed  them.  But  there  were  so  many 
he  had  not  enough  food  in  the  city.  Then  Olaf 
took  out  his  old  tablecloth  and  spread  it  on  the 
honest  earth  and  there  was  food  enough  for  all  and 


i94  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

some  to  pack  in  their  knapsacks  and  every  enemy 
went  away  a  friend. 

The  King  was  so  pleased,  he  offered  Olaf  a  ship  of 
his  very  own,  and  a  crew  to  sail  it,  and  Olaf  went 
aboard  and  waved  good-bye  to  the  King  and  Princess 
and  all  the  friends  he  had  made  and  set  sail  for  the 
town  where  he  had  left  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Lady 
Mayoress  and  his  mother. 

But  he  was  grown  such  a  big  lad  now  and  was 
dressed  so  fine,  nobody  in  the  town  knew  who  it  was 
when  this  great  painted  ship  came  sailing  in.  The 
Lord  Mayor  himself  came  down  to  the  quay  to 
ask  if  the  noble  stranger  would  not  come  to  dinner 
with  him,  so  Olaf  marched  up  the  street  beside 
the  Lord  Mayor,  with  all  the  children  and  people 
he  knew  so  well  cheering  and  welcoming  him.  Not 
one  knew  the  fine  stranger  was  little  Olaf,  the  cabin 
boy. 

When  he  got  to  the  Lord  Mayor's  house  and 
sat  down  between  him  and  the  Lady  Mayoress, 
Olaf  shook  out  his  table  napkin.  He  saw  it  was 
embroidered  with  ships  in  the  corners  and  well  he 
knew  who  had  worked  it. 

"  Never  have  I  seen  such  beautifully  embroidered 


THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY  195 

napkins,"  said  he.  "  Pray,  may  I  ask  to  shake  the 
hand  of  whomever  worked  this  before  I  eat  my 
dinner? " 

"  Certainly,  for  it  was  worked  by  the  best  and 
bravest  woman  in  Norway,"  said  the  Lady  Mayoress. 
"  A  fine  woman  whom  we  are  proud  to  call  our 
friend  and  who  should  be  sitting  at  the  table  with 
us,  but  she  was  so  wishful  to  see  the  dinner  was 
served  right." 

"  Fetch  her  to  me,"  commanded  Olaf  like  the  great 
lord  they  took  him  for.  But  when  they  brought 
in  his  mother  and  he  stood  up  and  went  to  her,  she 
did  not  wonder  who  he  was,  but  ran  straight  to 
him  and  cried,  "  Why,  'tis  my  little  Olaf  come 
home." 

Then  Olaf  and  his  mother  and  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  the  Lady  Mayoress  could  hardly  eat  their  dinner 
for  talking.  After  dinner,  Olaf  took  them  all  to  his 
ship  and  took  them  round  to  the  little  islands  and 
the  huts  and  houses  where  the  four  old  women  lived. 
The  little  old  women  were  glad  to  see  him  and  hear 
of  the  good  things  their  gifts  had  brought  him.  And 
then  Olaf  and  his  mother  and  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
Lady  Mayoress  said  good-bye,  and  Olaf  and  his 


196  THE  LITTLE  CABIN  BOY 

mother  sailed  away  to  go  round  the  world  and 
visit  the  King  and  Princess  and  many  fine  countries, 
and  so  well  did  they  like  their  ship  that  they  made  it 
their  home. 


THE  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A 
KAILYARD 

A  Tale  of  Scotland 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Queen  of  Scot- 
land. When  the  King,  her  husband,  died,  the 
kingdom  passed  to  a  distant  cousin  and  the  Queen 
and  her  three  daughters  had  to  go  to  a  cottage 
in  a  lonely  part  of  the  country,  for  this  cousin  of 
theirs  was  not  nearly  so  good  a  king  as  the  Queen's 
husband  had  been  and  he  did  not  want  the  Queen 
and  the  three  Princesses  near  the  castle,  where  they 
could  always  see  how  he  was  ruling  and  could  pass 
comparisons  of  him  and  his  predecessor.  The  new 
King,  accordingly,  had  packed  them  off  to  a  distant 
part  of  the  kingdom,  where  they  had  no  neighbours 
at  all  to  talk  to  and  only  a  little  field  where  they 
could  keep  their  cow  and  a  patch  of  ground  for  their 
cabbages.  But  the  Queen  was  a  good,  thrifty 
woman,  and  she  said  to  the  Princesses  they  must 

197 


198  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD 

make  the  best  of  the  little  bit  of  land  they  had  or 
their  fortunes  would  never  be  mended.  They  all 
set  to  work,  therefore,  to  carry  stones  from  the 
moor  and  build  a  stout  wall  round  the  kailyard  so 
the  cow  couldn't  eat  the  cabbages. 

Whenever  the  eldest  Princess,  whose  name  was 
Nannie,  began  to  grumble  and  talk  about  the  fine 
castle  they  once  lived  in,  the  Queen  would  say: 
"  Make  the  best  of  it  when  you're  getting  the  worst 
of  it  and  soon  the  worst  of  it  turns  to  the  best  of  it." 

"  But  that  nasty,  mean,  stingy  cousin  of  ours  had 
no  right  to  turn  us  out  this  way,"  cried  Nannie, 
who  was  a  proud  little  lass  and  did  not  mind  the 
hard  times  so  much  as  the  injustice. 

"  Fortune  mends  when  grumbling  ends,"  said  the 
Queen  and  that  was  all  Nannie  could  get  out  of  her. 

One  morning  when  Bess,  the  second  Princess,  ran 
out  to  pull  a  cabbage,  she  came  tearing  back  white 
as  paint  and  shouted  out  before  she  got  inside  the 
cottage  (and  you  can  tell  how  serious  a  thing  had 
happened  to  make  her  so  forget  her  manners  for 
Princesses  never  speak  except  in  the  gentlest,  sweet- 
est voices),  "  Oh,  mother,  do  come  and  look  at  the 
kailyard.  Some  one's  been  there  in  the  night  and 


They  all  set  to  work  to  carry  stones  from  the  moor  and  build  a 
stout  wall  around  the  kailyard. 


PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD  201 

cut  off  a  whole  row  of  cabbages  and  taken  them 
away  with  him." 

Well,  now  there  was  a  to-do  and  a  scattering  to 
the  kailyard,  but  at  the  end  of  it,  the  Queen  hushed 
the  little  Princesses  who  were  stamping  their  feet 
and  carrying  on  something  terrible  at  the  thought 
of  their  few  cabbages  being  taken  from  them. 

"  Now,  now,  children,"  said  she,  "  fortune  mends 
when  grumbling  ends.  The  stalks  are  left  and  if 
we  wait  a  while,  there's  sure  to  be  the  sweetest  baby 
cabbages,  a  dozen  on  each,  maybe.  You  know  how 
fond  you  are  of  those." 

"  But  it's  the  injustice  of  it,"  cried  Nannie.  "  No- 
body has  any  right  to  steal  our  cabbages  when  we 
have  made  a  wall  and  kept  them  from  the  cow  and 
dug  the  soil  and  watered  them." 

"  I  won't  dig  there  any  more,"  said  Bess,  who  had 
a  fine  Scotch  temper  and  sulked  and  pouted  where 
Nannie  stamped  her  foot. 

You  will  notice  you  haven't  heard  about  the  third 
Princess  yet.  Well,  her  name  was  Elspeth  and  the 
reason  you  haven't  heard  of  her  is  that  she  never 
was  much  for  talking,  but  just  went  about  her 
business  smiling  away  and  doing  everything  so 


202  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD 

cannily  it  was  a  pleasure  to  watch  her.  She  had 
stayed  behind  at  the  kailyard  and  now  she  came 
dancing  along  the  path. 

"  Oh,  mother,"  said  she,  "  there  are  such  big  boot- 
marks  along  by  the  wall  in  the  mud ! " 

Well,  now,  they  must  all  run  and  look,  and  sure 
enough  there  were  the  most  enormous  bootmarks, 
so  big  that  the  Queen  said  at  once,  "  Why,  a  Giant 
must  have  been  here." 

You  might  think  Dannie  and  Bess  and  Elspeth 
would  have  been  afraid  to  hear  that,  but  being 
Princesses,  they  had  been  brought  up  never  to  be 
afraid  of  anything,  and  Nannie  said  she  should  take 
her  milking  stool  and  wrap  herself  in  her  mother's 
plaid  and  sit  up  all  the  next  night  in  the  kailyard  so 
that  if  the  Giant  came  again,  she  could  send  him 
about  his  business. 

So  that  night  when  the  others  went  to  bed,  Nannie 
marched  out  with  her  milking  stool  and  set  herself 
down  to  watch.  The  moon  was  up,  and  the  cabbages 
glistened  as  plainly  as  if  it  had  been  day. 

She  drew  her  plaid  round  her  and  hid  every  bit 
of  her  face  except  the  tiniest  part  of  her  eyes  to 
peep  out  of;  then  came  a  dull  sort  of  tramping  sound 


PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD  203 

in  the  stillness;  and  over  the  wall  she  heard  a 
scuffling  and  hustling  and  then  there  stepped  into 
the  kailyard  the  biggest  sort  of  a  Giant.  He  stooped 
down  and  cut  off  a  row  of  cabbages  before  Nannie 
could  get  her  plaid  off  her  mouth;  then  she  cried  out: 
'What  are  you  doing  with  our  cabbages?" 

;<  What  business  is  that  of  yours?  "  said  the  Giant 
so  impolitely  that  Nannie  raged  with  anger.  Think 
of  the  injustice  of  his  stealing  their  cabbages  and 
then  asking  what  business  it  was  of  hers! 

'  They're  our  cabbages  and  you  put  down  that 
sack  and  go  about  your  business,"  cried  Nannie, 
putting  on  her  haughtiest  air. 

Well,  what  do  you  think  the  Giant  did! 

If  he  didn't  stoop  down  and  pick  up  Nannie  as  if 
she  were  a  cabbage  and  toss  her  into  the  sack  on 
top  of  them!  Then  he  put  the  sack  over  his  broad 
shoulder  and  went  striding  off,  over  the  hill  and  dale. 

Dear,  dear,  but  she  had  an  uncomfortable  journey 
and  when  the  Giant  marched  into  his  house  and 
threw  the  sack  down  on  the  floor  Nannie  crawled 
from  the  sack  so  shaken  about  she  hadn't  the 
strength  to  stamp  her  foot,  even  when  the  Giant  told 
her  she  must  drive  his  cow  to  pasture,  comb,  card, 


204  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD 
and  spin  a  bag  of  wool,  and  make  a  great  bicker 
of  porridge  for  his  supper  against  the  time  when  he 
returned. 

It  was  no  use  to  try  to  run  away,  for  the  Giant 
could  reach  out  his  long  arm  and  pick  her  up  as  if 
she  were  a  fly  and  so  Nannie  had  to  go  along  behind 
the  cow,  with  the  Giant  watching  her  all  morning. 

Then  she  tethered  the  cow  to  a  patch  of  grass  and 
came  back  to  see  about  the  wool  and  the  porridge. 
When  she  got  inside  the  door,  the  Giant  couldn't  see 
her  and  so  Nannie  thought  she  would  make  herself 
a  sup  of  porridge  for  her  dinner.  She  found  a  little 
iron  pot,  where  the  Giant  kept  his  salt,  and  in  this 
she  boiled  a  nice  little  sup  of  porridge  for  herself, 
and  sat  down  to  eat  it. 

She  had  just  sat  down  on  the  floor  to  have  her 
dinner,  when  there  came  a  knock.  It  was  a  timid 
little  knock,  and  when  she  called,  "Who's  that?"  a 
weak,  shivery  sort  of  voice  said: 

"  'Tis  a  poor  traveller,  mistress,  lost  on  the  moor 
and  wishful  for  a  bite  if  you  can  spare  one." 

"  Faith,  no,"  said  proud  Nannie.  "  I've  little  for 
one  and  less  for  two.  Be  off  about  your  business  or 
the  Giant  will  be  after  you." 


PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD  205 

Well,  she  heard  no  more  of  the  traveller,  and  after 
she  had  eaten  the  porridge  she  piled  the  peat  under 
the  great  bicker  full  of  meal  and  gave  it  a  stir  and 
then  she  set  to  work  to  comb  the  wool;  but  the  more 
she  combed  the  more  knots  came  into  it,  and  she 
grew  angrier  and  angrier,  until  when  the  Giant 
marched  in,  there  was  all  the  bag  of  wool  spoiled  and 
the  porridge  burnt  as  black  as  the  pot,  for  every 
knot  of  wool  that  wouldn't  come  out,  Nannie  had 
tossed  into  the  fire  and  sent  a  great  blaze  under  the 
bicker. 

Mercy,  but  he  was  angry!  He  picked  up  Nannie 
and  took  her  out  into  the  byre  and  threw  her  up 
into  the  loft  among  the  hens  and  told  her  to  stay 
there,  for  she  was  no  use  at  all.  And  didn't  Nannie 
cry  and  storm  at  the  injustice  of  it,  when  she  had 
been  driving  his  cow  and  trying  to  comb  his  wool 
all  day. 

Well,  the  next  night,  Bess  said  she  would  sit  up 
and  watch,  so  that  she  could  make  the  Giant  give 
back  their  sister  Nannie,  but  directly  the  Giant  saw 
her,  before  she  had  a  chance  to  speak,  he  put  her  in 
the  very  bottom  of  his  sack  and  piled  the  cabbages 
upon  her  until,  if  there  hadn't  been  a  little  hole  for 


206  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD 

her  to  breathe  through,  she  would  have  been  suf- 
focated. Exactly  the  same  things  happened  to  her, 
even  to  the  poor  traveller  coming  and  being  turned 
away,  for  Bess  determined  to  make  things  as  un- 
pleasant as  she  could  for  the  Giant  and  every  one, 
and  sulked  till  her  face  looked  as  heavy  as  an  under- 
done pudding.  Dear,  dear,  but  the  Giant  was  angry 
when  he  got  home  the  next  night  and  found  nothing 
done!  He  threw  her,  too,  up  into  the  byre  with 
the  hens  and  there  she  found  Nannie.  You  can 
imagine  how  glad  they  were  to  see  each  other. 
Nannie  forgot  her  temper  and  Bess  forgot  her  sulks 
and  they  kissed  and  hugged  each  other  and  then  they 
ate  a  little  of  the  meal  that  had  been  thrown  to  the 
hens  and  went  to  sleep  cuddled  up  in  their  plaids. 

When  the  Giant  went  to  the  kailyard  the  third 
night,  there  was  the  third  Princess,  Elspeth,  perched 
on  the  wall,  but  when  she  saw  him  coming,  she 
called  out,  "  Good  evening,"  most  politely." 

"  You're  coming  along  with  me,"  said  the  Giant, 
in  a  terribly  gruff  voice,  and  Elspeth  said,  "  I  ex- 
pected to,  and  that  is  why  I  am  here." 

Seeing  she  spoke  so  politely  and  smiled  in  such  a 
pleasant  way,  the  Giant  had  no  wish  to  ill-treat  her 


PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD  207 
and  when  he  had  put  in  the  cabbages  he  set  her  on 
the  top  of  them  quite  comfortably.  Then  off  he  went 
with  the  sack  on  his  shoulder  as  before,  but  Elspeth 
had  her  little  scissors  with  her,  and  she  cut  a  wee 
little  hole  in  the  sack  and  peeped  through  and 
noticed  every  bit  of  the  way  they  went  so  that  she 
would  know  the  road  home  again.  When  they  got 
to  the  Giant's  house,  Elspeth  had  sat  so  quietly  she 
had  been  no  weight  or  trouble  at  all,  and  when  the 
Giant  set  her  down  on  the  floor  without  a  single 
bump,  she  stepped  out  as  pretty  as  a  picture. 

Then  the  Giant  gave  his  orders,  and  she  nodded 
when  he  said  she  must  drive  the  cow,  and  said,  yes, 
she  could  do  that;  and  when  he  showed  her  the 
bicker  full  of  porridge,  she  said,  yes,  she  could 
make  good  porridge;  and  when  he  showed  her  the 
bag  of  wool,  she  said  she  never  had  combed  or 
carded  or  spun  any  wool,  but  she  would  try  her 
best;  then  the  Giant  went  off  for  his  snooze  in  the 
heather,  and  Elspeth  attended  to  the  cow,  and  came 
back  and  made  herself  a  sup  of  porridge  for  her 
dinner. 

Just  as  she  was  going  to  eat  it,  however,  the  timid 
knock  sounded  and  the  weak,  shivery  voice  of  the 


208  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD 

poor  traveller  was  heard  outside  the  door.  Instead 
of  staying  where  she  was  and  calling  out,  which 
is  no  sort  of  welcome  as  every  one  knows,  Elspeth 
set  down  her  little  pot  and  ran  to  the  door.  Outside 
stood  the  queerest-looking  fellow  you  ever  saw.  His 
hair  was  bright  red-gold  and  it  stuck  up  like  a 
shock  of  hay  on  fire,  and  his  thin,  white  face  and 
bright  blue  eyes  peered  out  beneath.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  kilt  of  green  and  silver  tartan  and  had 
tossed  a  plaid  over  his  shoulder,  so  that  he  was  not 
so  poorly  clothed,  but  it  was  plain  he  was  hungry, 
for  his  face  was  thin  as  a  hatchet  and  he  was  rub- 
bing his  stomach  in  the  most  pitiful  way. 

Well,  he  told  he  had  lost  his  way  on  the  moor, 
and  seeing  the  smoke,  he  had  come  to  the  Giant's 
house,  and  now  he  begged  for  a  sup  of  something. 

All  Elspeth  had  to  give  him  was  her  own  dinner, 
but  she  brought  that  out  to  him,  and  when  he  had 
finished,  he  said  he  would  like  to  do  a  service  for 
her  and  asked  if  she  had  any  wool  she  wanted 
carded. 

Elspeth  was  ready  enough  to  say  yes,  and  out 
she  brought  the  great  bag  the  Giant  had  left,  and 
down  sat  the  poor,  strange  traveller,  and  in  less  than 


PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD  209 

a  twinkling,  his  thin  fingers  had  run  through  it,  and 
combed  it  and  carded  it,  and  then  he  told  her  to  fetch 
out  the  spinning  wheel,  and  there  he  sat  and  spun 
the  wool  till  it  was  as  white  and  fine  as  dandelion 
down.  When  he  had  finished,  he  jumped  out  and 
vanished  just  as  quickly  as  a  dandelion  ball  when 
you  puff  it,  and  that  was  the  last  she  saw  of  him. 

When  the  Giant  came  in,  there  was  his  porridge 
cooked  to  perfection,  the  peat  bright  and  cheerful, 
the  wool  finished  and  Elspeth  ready  to  wait  on  him. 
The  Giant  was  so  pleased,  he  told  her  where  her 
sisters  were  and  said  she  could  set  the  ladder  against 
the  loft  and  climb  up  to  them.  "And  if  you  can 
teach  them  to  work  as  well  as  you  have  done,  I'll 
let  them  come  down  again  some  day,  when  their 
proud  hearts  are  brought  low,"  said  the  Giant.  You 
can  guess  how  glad  Elspeth  was  to  find  her  sisters 
again. 

In  the  morning,  when  Elspeth  ran  down  to  attend 
to  the  fire  and  get  the  Giant's  breakfast,  she  said,  "  If 
you  please,  would  you  mind  carrying  a  creel  of 
heather  to  my  mother's  cottage  as  there  are  none 
of  us  left  to  get  bedding  for  the  cow?  " 

Elspeth  asked  so  politely  with  such  a  pretty  smile, 
that  the  Giant  could  not  think  of  any  other  answer 


210  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD 

but  yes,  and  off  he  strode  with  the  big  basket  of 
heather  on  his  shoulder  before  he  took  his  daily  nap. 
Elspeth  was  busy  at  work  all  day,  and  in  the  evening 
the  Giant  again  said  she  might  go  and  sleep  with 
her  sisters  and  maybe  he  would  let  them  come  down 
some  day  so  that  Elspeth  might  teach  them  to  work 
as  well  as  she  did. 

Well,  the  next  morning  there  was  another  big 
creel  full  of  grass  lying  in  the  yard  and  Elspeth 
again  asked  the  Giant  if  he  would  carry  it  over  to 
her  mother,  as  there  was  no  one  left  to  pull  fodder 
for  the  cow,  and  again  the  Giant  agreed  and  took 
over  the  basket. 

He  was  just  as  pleased  with  Elspeth  when  he 
came  back  in  the  evening  and  said  next  day  her  two 
sisters  might  come  down,  for  he  was  going  on  a 
journey  and  would  like  the  house  redd  up. 

"  In  case  I  am  not  down  when  you  start,"  said 
Elspeth,  "  would  you  very  kindly  carry  this  last 
basket  of  bog  myrtle  for  my  mother  to  stuff  a 
pillow?  I  will  leave  it  by  the  door." 

Well,  the  Giant  was  going  past  the  kailyard  and 
he  agreed  to  take  it.  Next  morning  Elspeth  was  not 
down,  but  there  lay  the  basket,  and  when  he  had 


PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  iff  A  KAILYARD  211 

set  it  down  inside  the  kailyard  wall  and  gone  about 
his  business,  who  should  creep  out  but  Elspeth,  and 
then  didn't  she  run  across  the  kailyard  and  into  the 
cottage  where  her  mother  and  Nannie  and  Bess  were 
setting  breakfast.  For  of  course  Nannie  and  Bess 


had  been  hidden  in  the  baskets  of  grass  and  heather 
which  the  giant  had  carried  so  obligingly. 

Just  as  they  were  toasting  their  bannocks  and 
supping  their  brose,  who  should  come  riding  up  but 
a  fine  messenger  with  a  gilded  coach,  to  say  their 
cousin,  the  King,  had  become  much  nicer  .and  had 
sent  for  them,  so  that  the  Queen  could  help  him  to 
rule  the  kingdom,  and  they  were  all  to  come  at  once 
and  live  in  the  castle  which  had  been  their  own  dear 
home. 

And  so  when  the  Giant  came  back  that  night  and 
found  the  three  Princesses  gone  and  rushed  over  to 


212  PRINCESSES  WHO  LIVED  IN  A  KAILYARD 

the  kailyard  to  look  for  them,  there  was  nothing  for 
him,  neither  the  cow,  nor  a  hen,  nor  a  cabbage,  for 
the  Queen,  with  true  Scottish  thrift,  had  taken 
everything  away  with  her. 


THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND 

A  Tale  of  New  Zealand 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  little  boy  named 
Tutanekai  who  lived  in  New  Zealand  with 
his  stepfather,  his  mother,  and  stepbrothers;  his 
stepfather  was  as  kind  to  him  as  if  Tutanekai  were 
his  own  son,  but  his  stepbrothers  were  strong,  over- 
bearing boys  who  mocked  at  him  because  he  was 
gentle  and  small.  They  would  not  play  with  him 
at  all  and  one  day  his  stepfather  found  him  crying 
and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  Tutanekai  told  him 
that  he  had  no  one  to  play  with,  but  his  stepfather 
smiled  and  pointed  to  the  birds  overhead  and  the 
little  animals  that  frolicked  in  the  wood. 

"  Why  not  make  friends  with  these  companions 
here?"  said  he;  and  as  he  turned  away,  murmured, 

"  When  things  seem  to  trouble  you 
There's  always  something  you  can  do." 

So   Tutanekai  began   to   make  friends  with   the 

213 


2i4  THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND 

flowers  and  animals  and  birds  in  the  forest  and  as 
he  was  very  gentle  they  soon  understood  he  meant 
well  to  them  and  became  his  friends.  When  his 
stepbrothers  boasted  of  being  famous  hunters, 
Tutanekai  had  no  desire  to  follow  their  example. 
He  knew  where  every  wild  creature  lived  but  he  did 
not  wish  to  kill  his  friends;  he  was  so  much  bigger 
than  they  were;  he  would  have  felt  a  coward  if  he 
used  his  strength  to  harm  them. 

One  day  when  he  was  in  the  forest  he  heard  a 
delightful  sound,  sweeter  than  any  bird's  song,  and 
going  in  the  direction  of  the  music,  he  came  on  a 
big  rough  boy  sitting  in  a  tree  playing  on  a  queer- 
shaped  horn.  The  music  was  so  enchanting  that 
Tutanekai  forgot  his  shyness  and  ran  up  to  him, 
crying,  "  Oh,  please  show  me  how  to  make  sounds 
like  those." 

"  Sorrow  was  my  teacher,"  said  the  big  boy.  "  I 
have  been  turned  out  of  my  tribe  and  sent  into  the 
woods  to  live  alone:  so  I  have  made  this  horn  on 
which  I  can  play.  It  is  terrible  to  have  no  one  with 
whom  one  can  speak,  the,  whole  day  long." 

"  I  will  willingly  talk  to  you  if  you  will  teach  me 
how  to  make  a  horn,"  said  Tutanekai.  "  I  play  in 


THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND  215 

the  woods  all  day  and  I,  too,  find  the  days  pass 
slowly  with  no  one  to  speak  to." 

"Have  you  then  been  turned  out  of  your  tribe?" 
cried  Taki. 

"  No,  but  my  stepbrothers  will  not  play  with  me," 
said  Tutanekai.  "  They  say  I  am  too  small  and 
gentle  for  them." 

"  Why,  that  is  strange,"  said  Taki.  "  I  have  been 
turned  out  of  my  tribe  because  they  say  I  am  too 
big  and  rough.  I  may  as  well  confess,  for  you  will 
surely  soon  find  out,  that  I  have  a  terrible  temper, 
and  directly  I  am  opposed,  I  feel  like  the  Evil  One 
himself." 

"  Why,  then  you  have  come  to  the  woods  for  the 
same  reason  as  I,"  said  Tutanekai,  "  to  leave  trouble 
behind.  There  is  no  one  here  to  oppose  you  and 
there  is  no  one  here  to  tease  me,  and  so  we  can  be 
perfectly  happy." 

"  Well,  it  is  surely  a  good  thing  to  leave  trouble 
behind,"  said  Taki  thoughtfully.  "There  is  no 
reason  why  I  should  not  be  happy  if  that  has 
happened." 

"And  will  you  teach  me  how  to  make  music?" 
asked  little  Tutanekai. 


216  THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND 

"  Why,  that  I  will,"  said  Taki,  "  and  we  will  go 
down  to  the  seashore  to  find  a  sharp  stone  with 
which  to  carve;  you  shall  have  a  flute,  and  then  we 
can  play  together,  I  on  my  horn  and  you  on  your 
flute,  each  different,  and  yet  making  sweet  music 
together." 

From  that  day  Tutanekai  became  great  friends 
with  Taki;  they  played  together  with  the  birds  and 
animals  and  Taki  soon  found  out  he  had  to  be  gentle 
with  the  little  creatures  or  they  would  not  come 
near  him. 

At  last  the  two  boys  built  a  little  house  high 
up  in  the  trees;  it  was  like  an  elevated  balcony  where 
they  could  sit  and  play  music  every  evening.  Far 
below  they  could  see  the  waters  of  the  lake  in  which 
were  many  islands,  and  as  the  clear  strains  of  the 
horn  and  flute  rang  out,  people  in  canoes  would 
look  up  and  wonder  who  it  was  that. was  playing 
so  sweetly. 

Now  from  being  together  so  much  both  Taki 
and  Tutanekai  improved  greatly;  Taki  became  more 
gentle  and  Tutanekai  became  more  sociable.  There- 
fore, when  a  neighbour  gave  a  great  festival,  both 
Taki  and  Tutanekai  were  invited,  and  as  they  had 


THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND  217 

each  other  for  company  they  were  very  pleased  to  go. 
They  wove  beautiful  loincloths  of  grasses,  made 
necklaces  of  shells,  and  stuck  flowers  in  their  hair,  so 
that  when  they  came  to  the  party  they  looked  as  hand- 
some as  anybody.  Indeed,  Tutanekai's  stepbrothers 
did  not  look  half  so  well,  although  they  had  feather 
bonnets  on  their  heads  and  wore  whale's  teeth  and 
such  things  which  they  had  gained  when  hunting. 

Taki  and  Tutanekai  walked  about  together  enjoy- 
ing themselves  very  much  until  they  saw  everybody 
crowding  down  to  the  shore  and  heard  them  calling 
"  Hine-Moa,  here  comes  Hine-Moa."  They  won- 
dered who  this  Hine-Moa  could  be  and  mixing  with 
the  crowd,  approached  the  lake  in  time  to  see  a 
young  girl  bringing  her  canoe  to  land  with  in- 
credible swiftness  and  skill.  Far  across  the  lake 
came  the  canoes  of  her  companions,  but  Hine-Moa 
was  on  land  and  halfway  up  the  hillside  before 
they  reached  the  shore.  Then  the  boys  heard  that 
this  young  Hine-Moa  was  the  greatest  and  rich- 
est princess  in  New  Zealand,  and  although  so  young, 
ruled  over  the  powerful  tribe  that  lived  across  the 
water  on  the  mainland  which  the  boys  could  see 
from  their  balcony. 


2i 8  THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND 

Everybody  went  up  to  Hine-Moa  and  compli- 
mented her,  and  Tutanekai's  brothers  kept  close 
beside  her,  for  they  always  liked  to  be  with  im- 
portant people.  Everybody  was  asking  Hine-Moa 
to  dance  with  them,  but  when  they  all  stood  up  in  a 
great  ring,  Hine-Moa  noticed  Taki  and  Tutanekai. 
They  looked  better  than  any  one,  with  the  red 
flowers  in  their  dark  hair  instead  of  the  feathers  of 
poor  dead  birds,  and,  as  they  danced,  Hine-Moa 
noticed  how  kindly  and  gently  they  took  their 
partner's  hands.  She  asked  Tutanekai's  stepbrother 
who  they  were  and  heard  a  long  tale  about  their 
foolishness  and  shyness. 

"  Instead  of  hunting  and  fishing  as  men  should 
do,"  said  the  stepbrother,  "  they  are  no  better  than 
girls.  They  sit  up  in  the  woods  playing  their  foolish 
flutes  until  we  are  tired  of  hearing  them." 

But  when  she  heard  this  Hine-Moa  clapped  her 
hands  together  and  cried,  "What?  Are  those  my 
seabirds  whom  I  hear  across  the  water  every  morn- 
ing? Indeed,  they  are  better  than  girls  if  they  can 
make  beautiful  music  like  that,  for  there  is  not  a  girl 
in  New  Zealand  who  can  play  the  flute  half  so 


THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND  219 

sweetly,  and  I  am  going  at  once  to  ask  them  to 
teach  me." 

Hine-Moa  was  used  to  having  her  own  way,  and 
leaving  her  astonished  partner  to  dance  by  himself, 
she  ran  out  of  the  ring  and  hastened  to  where  Taki 
and  Tutanekai  were  standing.  She  came  to  them 
with  both  her  hands  held  out  and  cried,  "  Dear 
friends,  I  have  come  to  thank  you  for  your  music. 
The  breeze  carries  the  sound  across  the  water  when 
everything  is  still,  and  I  have  long  wondered  where 
it  came  from.  Have  you  your  flute  and  horn  with 
you?" 

Now  Taki  and  Tutanekai  never  went  anywhere 
without  them  and  Hine-Moa  persuaded  them  to 
teach  her  how  to  play;  and,  finally,  the  three  of  them 
went  down  to  the  shore  so  that  she  might  show 
them  her  canoe  which  she  had  made  and  decorated 
herself.  In  return,  the  boys  told  her  of  their  balcony 
which  they  had  built  with  their  own  hands  and  she 
said  she  would  love  to  come  in  her  canoe  some  eve- 
ning and  see  it. 

If  Tutanekai's  stepbrother  had  said  he  and  Taki 
were  no  better  than  girls,  Taki  and  Tutanekai 
thought  Hine-Moa  was  much  better  than  any  boy 


220  THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND 

they  had  ever  known.  They  had  never  seen  such  a 
beautiful  canoe  for  speed  or  lightness,  and  most  of 
all,  they  admired  the  way  in  which  she  had  carved 
and  painted  it.  When  they  all  departed,  Taki  and 
Tutanekai  agreed  they  would  blow  their  flute  and 
horn  next  evening  as  loud  as  they  could  and  would 
keep  on  playing  after  the  moon  rose  so  that  the 
sound  would  guide  her,  in  her  canoe,  to  the  spot 
where  they  waited  for  her. 

But  Hine-Moa's  friends  had  heard  from  Tuta- 
nekai's  stepbrothers  all  about  Taki's  terrible  temper 
and  Tutanekai's  timidity  and  they  made  up  their 
minds  that  their  beloved  Princess  should  not  make 
friends  with  boys  such  as  these;  and  they  hauled  the 
canoes  out  of  the  water  and  hid  every  one  of  them 
so  that  when  Hine-Moa  went  for  hers  that  evening, 
it  was  gone.  She  could  hear  the  sweet  music  very 
faintly  and  knew  how  disappointed  Taki  and 
Tutanekai  would  be  if  she  did  not  come;  but  there 
was  the  Lake  Rotutua  between  them;  and  then  she 
remembered  the  quaint  little  rhyme  Tutanekai  had 
whispered  to  her  at  parting: 

"  When  things  seem  to  trouble  you 
There's  always  something  you  can  do." 


THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND  221 

Now  on  the  shore  was  a  great  pile  of  dry,  empty 
gourds,  that  her  friends  had  tumbled  out  of  one  of 
the  canoes  in  the  hurry  of  hiding  it.  As  she  stood 
looking  across  the  lake  she  noticed  one  of  these 
gourds  bobbing  about  in  the  current  and  suddenly 
it  flashed  upon  her  that  it  might  be  possible  to 
swim  across.  She  took  six  large  gourds,  packed 
her  dress  in  one,  and  a  towel  in  the  other,  and 
put  them  on  each  side  of  her  as  floats,  and  then 
she  went  out  on  to  the  rocks,  and  cast  herself 
into  the  water.  She  swam  for  some  time  until 
she  came  to  the  stump  of  a  sunken  tree.  She  was 
able  to  rest  on  that  a  few  minutes,  floating  on 
the  current  of  the  lake,  supported  by  the  gourds. 
It  was  quite  dark  and  she  could  not  have  known 
where  Tutanekai's  balcony  was  if  the  music  had  not 
guided  her.  Presently  she  saw  tiny  lights  in  the 
trees  and  she  swam  on  and  on,  always  resting  on 
the  gourds,  until  she  climbed  up  on  to  the  rocks  of 
the  island  of  Mokoia.  Just  along  the  shore  she 
saw  puffs  of  steam  escaping  through  the  rocks. 

Now  it  had  been  a  long  swim  and  Hine-Moa  was 
young  and  the  waters  of  the  deep  lake  were  cold ;  so 
that  when  she  arrived  on  land  she  was  shivering  all 


222  THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND 

over  and  felt  she  could  not  walk  another  step.  As 
she  stood  there  dithering  and  trembling  and  getting 
her  apron  of  grasses  out  of  the  gourd  into  which 
she  had  put  it  for  safety,  she  saw  the  puffs  of  steam 
and  knew  with  joy  that  here  was  one  of  the  hot 
springs  for  which  New  Zealand  is  famous.  Joyfully 
she  ran  towards  it  and  found  a  natural  bathtub 
hollowed  out  of  the  rock  with  the  hot  water  bub- 
bling up  in  it.  Great  rocks  hid  it  from  sight  and 
Hine-Moa  jumped  in  to  warm  her  chilled  and 
wearied  limbs. 

Just  at  this  moment,  however,  Tutanekai  sent  Taki 
with  a  calabash  for  a  drink  of  hot  water,  for 
Tutanekai  had  made  up  his  mind  he  would  not  stop 
playing  until  Hine-Moa  arrived.  When  she  heard 
some  one  coming  Hine-Moa  called  out  in  a  gruff 
voice  like  a  man's,  "  For  whom  do  you  fetch  that 
water?" 

"  It  is  for  Tutanekai,"  said  Taki,  so  startled  he 
stopped  right  where  he  was. 

"  Tell  him  to  come  here  at  once,"  said  Hine-Moa 
in  a  savage  growling  voice  which  sounded  as  if  the 
water  itself  was  speaking.  Taki  was  so  frightened 
that  he  threw  down  the  calabash  and  flew  back  and 


i 

THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND  223 

told  Tutanekai  that  there  was  a  strange  man  in  the 
Hot  Springs. 

"  He  must  have  come  in  a  canoe  for  there  is  one 
drawn  up  on  the  shore,"  said  Taki.  "  I  nearly 
tumbled  over  it.  It  is  so  dark  one  can  scarcely  see 
the  steam  from  the  Hot  Springs.  I  am  sure  Hine- 
Moa  will  never  be  able  to  find  her  way  across." 

But  Tutanekai  had  thrown  down  his  flute  and  was 
jumping  up,  crying,  "  Why,  of  course  it  is  Hine- 
Moa  herself." 

Then  both  Taki  and  Tutanekai  hastened  to  the 
Hot  Springs  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  Hine-Moa 
in  her  pretty  dress,  laughing  heartily  at  the  trick 
she  had  played  on  Taki. 

How  glad  they  were  to  take  her  to  their  little 
house,  and  how  nimbly  Hine-Moa  climbed  the  tree, 
I  need  not  say;  nor  how  they  all  enjoyed  the  supper 
they  had  prepared  in  her  honour. 

Not  till  Tutanekai  said  suddenly,  "  I  wonder  if 
your  canoe  will  be  safe  down  there,"  did  Hine-Moa 
burst  out  laughing  and  told  them  she  had  no  canoe 
at  all.  Then  she  took  them  down  to  see  her  gourds 
and  described  her  wonderful  swim  across  the 
lake. 


224  THE  BOYS  WHO  LEFT  TROUBLE  BEHIND 

"  Oh,  how  glad  I  am  we  kept  on  playing,"  cried 
Tutanekai. 

"  Yes,  you  said  we  must  not  let  trouble  come  in 
front  of  us  and  stop  our  music,"  said  Taki  thought- 
fully. '  You  said  we  must  keep  on  expecting  joy, 
even  when  I  grew  weary;  I  see  now  that  is  the  way 
to  bring  joy,  for  if  we  had  ceased,  Hine-Moa  would 
not  have  had  the  music  to  guide  her  and  then — 
who  knows  what  might  have  happened?" 

"Ah,  Hine-Moa,  often  and  often  Taki  has  said 
'  Joy  would  come  to  us  across  the  lake,' '  said 
Tutanekai.  "  Now  come  to  my  father's  house  and 
receive  a  royal  welcome,  for  the  whole  tribe  must 
hear  of  your  wonderful  exploit  and  honour  you." 

Then  the  boys  took  Hine-Moa  to  Tutanekai's 
house,  and,  late  as  it  was,  his  father  and  stepbrothers 
called  all  the  neighbours,  even  Taki's  tribe,  and  all 
together  feasted  and  rejoiced  and  honoured  Hine- 
Moa  for  her  brave  deed.  Thus  the  boys  who  left 
trouble  behind,  brought  joy  to  all  who  knew  them. 


HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 

A  Tale  of  Serbia 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  were  three  brothers 
who  had  nothing  in  the  world  but  an  old  pear- 
tree,  which,  when  the  fruit  was  ripening,  each  took 
in  turn  to  watch,  while  the  others  worked. 

One  day  the  brother  who  was  watching  saw  an 
old  man  approaching;  he  looked  rosy  and  jolly  and 
when  he  caught  sight  of  the  rosy  pears,  he  stopped 
and  asked  politely  if  he  might  dine  off  the  fruit,  as 
he  had  not  broken  his  fast  that  day  and  they  were 
a  long  distance  from  any  farm  or  cottage. 

"  I  cannot  give  you  any  fruit  from  my  brother's 
share  of  the  tree,  but  I  will  gladly  give  you  some 
from  mine,"  said  the  first  brother.  "  I  must  gather 
it  myself,  however,  for  we  have  divided  the  tree  into 
three  portions,  from  branch  to  branch,  and  you 
would  not  know  where  my  share  of  the  tree  begins 

and  ends." 

225 


226    HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 

The  brother  therefore  climbed  the  tree  and 
gathered  a  good  basket  of  the  plumpest  and  rosiest 
pears,  and  brought  them  down  to  the  old  man,  who 
ate  them  gratefully. 

The  next  day  the  second  brother  was  watching; 
the  old  man  again  appeared  and  again  came  up  and 
asked  if  he  might  dine  off  the  fruit,  and  the  second 
brother  answered  as  the  first  had  done,  and  climbing 
the  tree  brought  down  a  generous  basket  of  the 
finest  fruit,  saying,  "  It  is  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to 
show  hospitality,  even  if  one  has  only  a  few  pears." 

On  the  third  day  when  the  third  brother  was 
watching,  the  beggar  came  up  and  made  the  same 
request,  and  the  third  brother  made  exactly  the  same 
answer  and  gave  as  good  a  basket  of  fruit  as  the 
others  had  done. 

''  Did  your  brothers  tell  you  I  had  been  this  way 
before?"  said  the  old  man. 

"  No,"  said  the  third  brother. 

"  Nor  that  they  had  given  me  a  basket  of  pears 
each  time  I  came?"  said  the  old  man. 

"What  are  a  few  pears?"  said  the  third  brother, 
looking  very  puzzled,  and  the  old  man  nodded  his 
head  as  if  he  were  pleased.  "  Nothing  to  speak  of," 


He  climbed  the  tree  and  gathered  a  good  basket  of  the 
plumpest  and  rosiest  pears. 


HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH     229 

said  he.  "  It  is  good  not  to  speak  of  one's  charities 
or  even  to  remember  them." 

He  then  went  his  way  and  soon  the  third  brother 
had  forgotten  all  about  him. 

Soon  after,  the  crop  of  pears  was  gathered  and  all 
marvelled  at  the  fine  flavour  and  abundance  of  the 
fruit;  after  the  brothers  had  given  great  baskets  to 
their  masters  for  whom  they  worked,  there  still 
remained  so  many  that  they  obtained  a  good  price 
for  them  at  market,  and,  for  the  first  time,  found 
themselves  with  money  in  their  pockets.  They  took 
a  walk,  therefore,  beside  the  river  bank  to  discuss 
what  they  should  do  with  it. 

But  as  they  were  walking  along,  whom  should 
they  see  coming  up  to  them  but  the  old  man!  He 
still  wore  his  homely  dignity  and  when  he 
approached,  they  saw  at  once  that  he  had  not  come 
to  ask  for  anything  this  time.  No,  indeed;  instead 
he  said  it  was  in  his  power  now  to  do  them  some 
little  service  and  he  would  like  to  know  the  desires 
of  their  hearts. 

"  Why,"  said  the  first  brother,  "  we  have  just  been 
saying  what  we  should  like  to  have  if  only  our 
money  would  stretch  as  far.  I  long  for  a  great  fruit 


230     HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 

orchard,  full  of  apples  and  cherries  and  plums  and 
pears,  with  grapevines  on  the  slopes  of  the  hill," 
said  he.  "  Then  I  would  have  sheds  by  the  river 
where  we  would  press  out  the  juice  from  the  grapes 
and  apples  and  send  it  away  in  barrels  on  rafts  I 
would  cut  from  the  forest. 

"  There  would  be  a  great  stream  of  fruit  and  juice 
flowing  down  the  river  to  the  towns,  and  in  the 
winter  when  the  sap  is  sleeping,  I  would  be  busy  in 
the  sheds  making  my  rafts  and  barrels,  so  that  there 
would  be  no  time  wasted  through  the  year.  If  I  had 
time  to  spare,  and  I  certainly  would  have  some,  I 
would  spend  my  evenings  painting  my  barrels  in 
bright  colours  and  carving  and  painting  my  rafts  so 
that  every  one  would  rejoice  when  they  saw  my  fruit 
sailing  down  the  river  and  feel  as  joyful  as  if  they 
beheld  the  fair  sight  of  an  orchard,  laden  with 
brown,  red,  and  yellow  fruit,  or  saw  it  in  the  spring 
when  the  blossoms  are  rosy  and  the  leaves  pale 
green.'* 

The  first  brother  paused  quite  excited  at  all  the 
possibilities  of  his  fruit  orchard,  and  the  old  man 
smiled  very  kindly  as  he  turned  to  the  second  and 
asked  what  his  choice  would  be. 


HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH  231 
"  Give  me  a  great  farm  with  rolling  meadows 
and  many  sheep,"  said  he.  "  From  their  milk  I 
would  make  butter  and  cheese  in  the  cool  dairies  of 
the  farmhouse.  I  would  then  be  able  to  use  my  eve- 
nings profitably  in  carving  butter  moulds,  and  my 
cheese  should  be  white  and  firm  as  marble.  I  would 
shear  my  sheep,  too,  and  card  and  spin  and  weave 
the  wool  and  make  beautiful  cloth  and  rugs  in  the 
winter;  and  some  of  the  sheepskins  should  be  dressed 
and  made  into  warm  coats,  and  I  would  paint  the 
inside  of  the  skin  so  that  the  inside  of  the  coat  would 
be  as  gay  as  the  flowers  in  the  meadows.  Every- 
body would  rejoice  who  got  one,  and  the  painted 
flowers  would  make  the  shepherds  remember  the 
bright  summer  and  the  balmy  air,  as  they  tended 
their  flocks  in  the  cold  winter  nights  and  days.  And 
all  the  good  wives  who  spread  my  butter  would  fall 
to  thinking  of  the  fragrant  flowers  on  my  butter 
moulds,  and  the  butter  would  taste  as  sweet  as 
spring.  Then  I  would  have  ox-wagons,  painted,  and 
carved  until  they  looked  like  a  Tsar's  chariots  and 
they  should  carry  my  butter  and  cheese  and  wool  to 
the  cities  where  men  have  few  flowers  and  need 
to  remember  our  rolling,  fertile  meadows." 


232     HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 

The  old  man  again  nodded  as  if  he  were  well 
pleased,  and  turning  to  the  third  brother  asked  him 
for  his  heart's  desire. 

"  Why,  as  my  brothers  talked,  I  have  been  think- 
ing they  will  need  a  woman,  either  in  the  orchard 
or  the  farm,"  said  he,  "  and  on  the  goodness  of  their 
wives  will  depend  the  success  of  their  ventures  as 
well  as  the  happiness  of  their  homes.  I  will  first 
make  sure  of  my  wife  and  then  let  my  place  in  life 
unfold.  So  my  heart's  desire  is  to  marry  a  true 
Christian  woman." 

But  now  the  old  man  looked  rather  disturbed  and 
said,  "  This  may  sound  easy  to  you,  but  there  are 
only  three  true  Christian  women  in  the  country 
and  two  of  them  are  married,  while  the  third  is  the 
Tsar's  daughter.  You  surely  would  not  wish  to 
marry  her  when  you  have  no  home  to  offer  her?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said  the  third  brother  heartily. 
"The  money  my  share  of  the  pears  has  brought 
will  buy  a  plot  of  ground  and  materials  with  which 
I  can  build  a  cottage  large  enough  to  shelter  two." 

"  But  the  Tsar's  daughter  is  used  to  a  great 
palace,"  said  the  old  man,  "  and  many  rooms  filled 
with  costly  furniture,  and  many  servants  to  wait  on 
her." 


HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH    233 

"As  there  will  be  little  furniture  but  that  which 
I  can  make  in  my  spare  time  of  evenings  we  shall 
need  no  servants  to  take  care  of  it,"  said  the  third 
brother  cheerfully.  "  And  if  she  is  a  true  Christian 
woman,  she  will  be  as  happy  in  a  hut  as  in  a  palace 
and  prefer  to  live  as  others  live  instead  of  queening 
it  over  every  one.  Moreover,  if  she  is  a  true 
Christian  woman,  she  will  be  industrious  and  eager 
to  learn,  and  we  shall  make  a  fine  home  in  time. 
If  she  is  a  true  Christian  woman  she  will  have 
patience  and  if  she  is  not  a  true  Christian  woman, 
she  can  stay  in  her  palace,  for  I  have  no  desire  to 
have  any  one  but  a  true  Christian  to  spend  my  days 
with." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  have  not  heard  of  the 
beauty  of  the  Tsar's  daughter?"  said  the  old  man, 
"nor  that  princes  from  all  parts  of  the  world  are 
seeking  to  win  her  hand?" 

"  If  she  is  a  true  Christian  woman,  she  will  prefer 
a  man  who  seeks  her  for  that  reason,  and  not  because 
her  father  is  a  Tsar  or  her  face  is  beautiful,"  said 
the  third  brother,  quite  undaunted,  but  rather,  in- 
deed, as  if  he  thought  his  chance  was  a  good  one. 

"Well,"  said  the  old  man,  "I  have  come  here 
to-day  to  give  you  each  your  heart's  desires.  The 


234  HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 
orchard  shall  be  yours,"  he  added,  turning  to  the 
first  brother,  and  to  the  second,  "  The  farm  shall  be 
yours,"  then  to  the  third,  "  While  as  for  you,  you 
shall  at  least  lay  your  request  before  the  Tsar's 
daughter,  for  I  know  you  will  not  be  content  unless 
she  gives  you  her  heart  as  well  as  her  hand." 

The  next  day,  therefore,  the  third  brother  was 
admitted  into  the  Tsar's  palace,  and  allowed  to  see 
the  Tsar's  daughter,  and  to  every  one's  surprise,  she 
said  the  third  brother  offered  her  the  wish  of  her 
heart,  and  she  stepped  out  of  the  palace  and  left 
her  grand  clothes,  thick  with  gold  and  jewels,  that 
separated  her  from  all  the  simple  homely  people 
in  the  world;  and  she  went  happily  with  the  third 
brother  to  help  him  build  his  cottage,  for,  said  she, 
"  true  Christians  always  help  each  other,  and  it  is 
well  for  a  wife  to  begin  as  soon  as  she  can,  to  help 
her  husband."  They  built  the  little  cottage,  there- 
fore, and  lived  in  it,  and  the  third  brother  worked 
in  the  tiny  plot  of  land  and  grew  the  simple  food 
they  needed. 

Some  time  after,  the  old  man  came  their  way 
again.  The  first  thing  he  saw  was  the  first  brother's 
fine  orchards,  each  set  out  as  neat  as  a  nut,  with  the 


HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH     235 

trees  in  orderly  rows,  and  bushes  between  them,  and 
the  vines  climbing  the  hillside.  On  the  river  bank 
were  now  great  sheds  and  wharves,  and  a  great 
din  of  hammering  arose,  and  black  boats  and  rough 
rafts  clustered  round  the  water's  edge.  But  the  old 
man  looked  in  vain  for  the  carven  and  painted  rafts 
and  the  gay  barrels,  for  everything  was  dingy  and 
ugly,  as  if  the  first  brother  thought  only  of  getting 
as  much  out  of  his  orchard  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  never  gave  a  thought  to  the  people  who  lived 
by  the  river  and  saw  his  fleet  of  rafts  and  boats  go 
by,  laden  with  the  hideous  dull  barrels.  The  old 
man  nodded  to  himself,  but  this  time  he  nodded 
sadly,  and  then  he  went  up  to  the  fine  house  which 
stood  a  little  way  from  the  orchard. 

There  was  a  woman  in  charge,  dressed  in  costly 
silks  and  ordering  her  maids  about,  and  when  the  old 
man  saw  her  on  the  porch  he  went  up  to  her  and 
asked  if  he  might  have  a  drink  of  grape  juice,  for 
it  was  the  time  just  after  harvest. 

"  Indeed,  no,"  said  the  woman,  "  if  we  were  to  give 
to  every  one  who  asked,  there  would  be  nothing  left 
for  us.  With  everything  costing  so  much,  we  have 
little  enough  for  our  own  use."  The  beggar  took 


236     HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 

a  good  look  at  her  proud,  discontented  face,  and 
without  another  word,  went  away.  As  he  passed  by 
the  old  pear-tree  which  stood  between  the  or- 
chard and  the  farm,  he  beheld  the  first  brother, 
now  very  fat  and  pompous,  standing  beneath  the 
tree,  and  approaching  him,  he  asked  if  he  might 
have  one  of  the  few  pears  that  still  clung  to  the 
branches. 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  the  first  brother  harshly.  "  I 
am  keeping  those  pears  to  flavour  a  particular  brand 
of  perry,  and  they  certainly  will  not  be  wasted  on  a 
beggar  when  I  will  not  even  pull  them  for  my  own 
table." 

The  old  man  said  not  a  word,  but  bowed  his  head 
and  went  on  to  the  farm. 

Here,  too,  was  evidence  of  prosperity.  Many 
sheep  browsed  on  the  meadows,  and  the  farm  build- 
ings were  full  of  the  clatter  of  tin  cans  and  pails, 
while  glancing  within  the  open  doors,  the  old  man 
beheld  many  servants  at  work  on  the  butter  and 
cheeses.  But  he  noticed  that  everything  was 
dumped  into  the  muslin,  or  thumped  into  the  tubs, 
without  any  thought  except  to  get  through  as 
quickly  as  possible.  There  were  no  pretty  butter 


HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH     237 

moulds  and  no  gayly  painted  ox-wagons  to  be  seen 
anywhere. 

Instead,  every  one  looked  worried  and  anxious, 
and  as  ugly  as  the  tubs  they  thrust  the  butter  into, 
or  the  boxes  in  which  they  packed  the  cheese. 
Going  a  little  farther,  the  old  man  saw  a  huge  build- 
ing where  wool  was  stacked,  and  beheld  a  stream  of 
hurried,  worried  people  carrying  it  in  bales  and 
throwing  it  into  ugly  carts.  He  shook  his  head 
more  sadly  than  before  and  went  up  the  steps  to  the 
farmhouse  around  which  not  even  a  flower  grew. 

Here  he  asked  if  he  might  have  a  slice  of  cheese, 
but  a  thin,  worried  woman,  who  was  evidently 
mistress,  told  him  to  go  away.  '  We  have  nothing 
to  give  to  any  one/'  said  she,  "  and  scarcely  enough 
for  ourselves;  the  demand  for  our  cheese  and 
butter  is  so  great  we  scarcely  know  how  to  get  it  to 
market.  It  is  weeks  since  I  have  had  as  much  butter 
in  my  kitchen  as  we  need." 

The  old  man  gave  her  a  good  look  and  beheld  her 
anxious,  pinched  expression  and  dull  eyes  and  with- 
out another  word,  went  away.  He  returned  past  the 
old  pear-tree,  and  there  he  saw  the  second  brother 
hurrying  on  his  shepherds  who  were  driving  sheep. 


238     HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 

The  old  man  paused  and  asked  him  if  he  might 
have  a  pear,  but  the  second  brother  said  shortly  that 
he  had  long  since  sold  his  share  of  the  tree  to  his 
brother,  and  had  no  time  to  listen  to  beggars,  any- 
way, and  on  he  ran  after  the  shepherds. 

Then  the  old  man  turned  his  steps  in  the  direction 
of  the  plot  of  ground  whereon  the  third  brother  had 
built  his  cottage.  Such  a  dear  little  cottage  greeted 
him,  so  small  it  had  but  a  single  room,  but  there  was 
a  gay  plot  of  flowers  before  the  windows,  vines 
climbed  about  the  door,  and  little  flowers  grew  upon 
the  roof  and  made  another  flower  garden.  There 
was  a  gay  hen-house,  painted  brightly,  and  a  neat 
fence  so  that  the  chickens  should  not  spoil  the 
flowers,  and  the  windows  shone  like  diamonds.  The 
third  brother  was  spading  up  the  ground,  but 
directly  he  saw  the  old  man,  he  called  to  his  wife, 
and  both  ran  forward  to  meet  him  and  welcome  him. 
Then  they  took  him  into  their  little  home,  and 
inside  it  was  even  prettier  than  out.  With  their 
clever,  patient  hands  they  had  carved  and  made  good 
solid  furniture  that  would  last  many  lifetimes,  and 
had  painted  between  the  carving,  and  had  em- 
broidered stout  cushions  and  woven  rugs  and  cur- 


HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH     239 

tains,  and  you  may  be  sure  they  had  found  time  to 
weave  gallant  patterns  thereon,  which  rilled  one  with 
joy  and  courage  just  to  look  on  them. 

They  begged  the  old  man  to  be  seated,  and  then 
they  made  haste  to  prepare  a  meal  for  him. 

But  the  old  man  noticed,  though  they  did  not  say 
a  word  about  it,  that  the  flour  they  took  from  the 
bin  was  not  from  corn  or  barley,  but  poor  stuff  made 
from  the  bark  of  the  trees  that  grew  in  the  forest. 
They  chatted  to  him  as  gaily  as  if  they  possessed 
all  that  they  could  desire,  however,  and  mixed  and 
baked  the  bread  and  set  the  table  with  a  cloth  of 
coarse  linen  embroidered  with  beautiful  lettering  and 
grateful  words,  each  helping  the  other  and  each  as 
happy  as  the  other. 

And  when  the  table  was  spread,  the  third  brother 
ran  out  and  fetched  a  jug  of  sparkling  water  from 
the  spring  while  the  Tsar's  daughter  drew  the  bread 
from  the  oven.  But  what  was  her  surprise  to  find 
instead  of  a  hard  little  cake,  a  fine  loaf  of  beautiful 
light  bread,  scenting  the  kitchen  with  its  fragrance, 
and  as  the  third  brother  came  back  and  poured  the 
water  from  his  jug  into  the  wooden  beakers,  behold 
it  was  the  best  sort  of  grape  juice  as  red  as  rubies. 


24o    HE  WHO  ASKS  LITTLE  RECEIVES  MUCH 

Then  did  the  Tsar's  daughter  and  the  third  brother 
cry  aloud  with  joy,  saying,  "  How  good  God  is ! 
We  have  been  enabled  to  welcome  our  guest  as  we 
would  wish." 

"  You  had  already  welcomed  me  with  the  best 
man  has  to  give,"  said  the  old  man,  "  for  you  have 
welcomed  me  with  remembrance  and  gratitude." 
Then  they  all  enjoyed  their  meal  together  and  the 
old  man  departed,  smiling  at  the  wise  choice  the 
third  brother  had  made.  Nor  did  he  go  before  he 
had  found  out  that  their  corn  bin  was  empty  because 
they  had  given  their  beautiful  harvest  away  to  those 
in  greater  need;  and  the  next  day  when  the  Tsar's 
daughter  returned  from  the  forest  where  she  had 
gone  to  collect  bark,  and  the  third  brother  returned 
from  the  river  where  he  had  been  to  get  reeds  for  a 
basket,  they  found  their  corn  bin  and  flour  bin,  too, 
full  of  the  best  that  they  could  wish,  with  this 
message  on  the  table, 

"  He  who  asks  little,  receives  much." 


FITNA  AND  THE  COW 

A  Tale  of  Persia 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  young  prince 
of  Persia  named  Bahram.  He  was  a  gallant 
impetuous  boy,  very  brave  and  skilful,  and  usually 
tender-hearted;  but  one  day  he  would  be  Shah  of 
Persia  and  he  was  used  to  having  his  own  way  in  all 
things,  and  most  of  the  courtiers  round  him  flattered 
him. 

Bahram  was  very  fond  of  riding  and  picnicking 
out  of  doors  and  one  day  he  was  speeding  through 
the  woods  with  several  ministers  and  companions. 
He  amused  himself  by  shooting  with  his  bow  and 
arrows  as  he  rode,  transfixing  the  fruit  on  the  trees, 
and  bringing  now  and  then  a  leaf  or  blossom  to  the 
ground,  so  skilful  was  his  aim.  At  every  fresh 
achievement,  a  cry  of  wonder  and  admiration  would 
go  up  from  those  beside  him,  which  of  course  en- 
couraged Bahram  to  perform  even  more  dexterous 

feats. 

241 


242  FITNA  AND  THE  COW 

Presently  they  left  the  wood  and  came  into  a 
pleasant  open  space  where  a  little  river  ran  between 
banks  of  flowers.  Gently  rising  hills  stretched  away 
in  the  distance  and  a  beautiful  lilac  bush  neighboured 
a  rosebush  in  full  bloom.  Here  Bahram  drew  up  his 
horse  and  dismounted  and  attendants  hastened  to 
spread  a  silken  carpet  on  which  he  might  sit,  while 
others  unpacked  the  provisions  and  cooled  the 
sherbet  in  the  brook.  But  glancing  round,  Bahram 
perceived  his  chief  friend,  Fitna,  standing  near,  look- 
ing very  grave.  Her  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  distant 
hills,  and  she  did  not  seem  to  be  aware  of  Bahrain's 
presence. 

Fitna  was  a  young  and  beautiful  slave  whom 
Bahrain's  parents  had  placed  in  attendance  on  their 
son  because  she  was  so  intelligent  and  sincere. 
Bahram  liked  her  because  she  always  spoke  the 
truth  and  had  also  a  thousand  interesting  stories  to 
tell  him,  and  information  about  all  sorts  of  curious 
things.  She  rode,  too,  more  swiftly  than  any  one  at 
the  court  except  himself,  could  shoot  almost  as 
well  as  he  could,  never  complained  of  heat  or  cold 
and  took  any  discomfort  that  happened  as  hardily 
as  a  brave  girl  should.  She  looked  as  beautiful  as 


FITNA  AND  THE  COW  243 

the  lilac  or  the  rose  tree  as  she  stood  there  and 
Bahram  called  her  to  him,  to  ask  what  she  was 
thinking  about. 

"  I  was  looking  at  that  rock  over  there,"  said 
Fitna,  "  where  Shah  Husheng  threw  the  stone  at  the 
dragon  and  set  the  grass  on  fire  with  the  sparks  that 
flew  from  the  stone  striking  the  rock." 

"What?  Is  that  the  place?"  said  Bahram,  much 
interested. 

'  Yes,  and  I  was  thinking  how  wonderful  it  was 
that  he  was  not  afraid  when  for  the  first  time  men 
saw  fire  and  all  his  courtiers  flew  before  the  strange 
appearance,"  said  Fitna,  taking  the  seat  Bahram 
indicated  on  the  carpet  beside  him.  "  He  must  have 
loved  his  people  very  much  to  have  stayed  there  and 
gone  up  to  the  burning  grass  and  discovered  the  heat 
could  be  used  for  good  purposes." 

"Did  he?"  said  Bahram,  wrinkling  up  his  brows 
as  he  tried  to  remember. 

"  Why,  don't  you  remember  that  great  Shah 
Husheng  who  taught  people  to  cook  food  and  bake 
bread?"  said  Fitna.  "He  also  taught  them  how  to 
weave  and  make  clothes.  And  when  the  people  from 
those  mountains  yonder  declared  war,  instead  of 


.244  FITNA  AND  THE  COW 

killing  them,  he  turned  them  into  friends  and  they 
brought  him  books  made  from  the  skins  of  beasts, 
pens  from  the  feathers  of  birds  and  ink  from  the 
juices  of  plants;  and  thus  he  learned  to  read  and 
write,  and  taught  all  his  people  to  do  the  same." 

"  I  know  and  care  little  about  Shah  Husheng," 
said  Bahram  proudly.  "  I  admire  and  hope  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  great  Shah  Jemshid,  who  taught 
his  people  the  use  of  the  armour  and  the  sword  and 
caused  his  people  to  wear  splendid  robes  of  silk  and 
linen.  He  built  the  greatest  palace  in  the  world, 
and  never  was  any  king  so  magnificent  or  mighty  as 
he  was." 

"  Until  he  forgot  that  he  was  only  a  man  even  as 
other  men,"  said  Fitna  honestly,  "  and  said  that 
everything  that  is  good — knowledge,  peace,  and  joy 
— came  from  him.  Then,  his  palace  grew  dark  and 
dingy,  his  people  scorned  his  laws  and  would  not 
obey  them  and  in  the  end,  drove  him  into  exile." 

Bahram  said  nothing  to  this,  but  bit  his  lip  with 
anger  and  presently  taking  up  his  bow,  aimed  at  the 
rock  across  the  river,  on  the  top  of  which  grew  a 
tuft  of  grass.  So  accurate  was  his  aim,  that  the  tuft 
was  detached  from  the  stone  and  fell  to  the  ground 


FITNA  AND  THE  COW  245 

transfixed  by  the  arrow.  Every  one  cried  aloud  with 
astonishment,  and  Bahram  turned  proudly  to  Fitna 
and  said  to  her,  "  Could  Shah  Husheng  have  per- 
formed so  marvellous  a  feat  as  that?  What  have  you 
to  say  about  it?  " 

'  Why,  certainly,  practice  makes  perfect,"  said 
Fitna  calmly,  as  if  Bahram  had  done  only  what  any 
man  who  tried  long  enough  and  faithfully  enough 
could  do. 

Now  Bahrain's  rage  grew  uncontrollable.  Of  all 
people,  he  wished  Fitna  to  admire  and  praise  and 
respect  him  because  in  his  heart  he  knew  she  was  the 
wisest  of  a.ny  one  around  him  and  also  was  his  most 
faithful  and  devoted  friend.  But  to-day  she  would 
not  admire,  and  in  his  pride  and  vanity  he  rose  up 
and  cried  to  his  attendants,  "  Take  this  girl  who 
refuses  to  honour  my  high  rank  and  carry  her  to  the 
mountains  and  leave  her  there  to  perish." 

Then  he  jumped  upon  his  horse  and  dashed  off 
at  such  a  pace,  none  could  come  up  with  him. 

The  courtiers  were  about  to  seize  Fitna  roughly 
when  the  oldest  minister  approached,  and  bidding 
them  stand  back,  said  he  himself  would  see  that 
Fitna's  sentence  was  carried  out  and  bade  them 


246  FITNA  AND  THE  COW 

follow  the  Prince  and  see  that  he  did  himself  no 
mischief  in  his  fury. 

Fitna  had  not  said  a  word;  she  stood  with  the 
tears  rolling  down  her  cheeks,  proud  and  calm,  for 
all  her  grief,  for  she  knew  she  was  in  God's  hands 
and  even  a  Shah  could  not  hurt  her  for  doing  her 
duty  as  a  true  friend  of  the  young  prince  she  loved 
and  served. 

The  minister  was  so  struck  by  her  courage  and 
dignity  that  he  took  her  to  a  small  village  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains  and  there  she  promised  she 
would  remain  hidden  from  every  one  so  that  Bahram 
might  think  she  had  disappeared  forever. 

The  minister  arranged  to  give  her  a  small  sum 
for  her  needs  and  then  left  her  and  went  back  to 
court  where  he  found  Prince  Bahram  already  very 
miserable,  but  too  proud  to  say  openly  he  had  re- 
pented of  his  cruelty. 

Fitna  did  not  waste  any  time  in  fretting.  She 
obtained  a  lodging  in  the  one  house  in  the  village 
which  had  an  upper  room.  This  was  reached  by  a 
staircase  of  twenty  steps  going  up  from  the  street. 
Then  Fitna  walked  out  and  purchased  a  small  calf, 
not  old  enough  to  leave  its  mother. 


She  proceeded  to  mount  the  stair  as  easily  as  if  she  were  carrying 

a  feather. 


FITNA  AND  THE  COW  249 

But  Fitna  said  she  would  only  need  the  use  of  it 
for  a  few  minutes  each  day,  and  proceeded  to  carry 
the  little  creature  up  the  twenty  steps  to  her  room, 
and  then  down  again. 

This  she  did  every  day  without  fail,  summer  and 
winter — in  the  hottest  noon  or  the  coldest  weather. 
Day  by  day  she  became  a  little  more  accustomed  to 
her  strange  exercise  and  day  by  day  the  calf  became 
a  little  larger,  so  that  they  kept  pace  with  each 
other. 

This  went  on  for  four  years. 

At  the  end  of  that  time,  it  occurred  to  Bahram 
who  was  now  King,  that  he  would  ride  to  the 
furthest  domains  of  his  kingdom.  Accordingly,  he 
came  as  far  as  the  village  in  which  Fitna  lived  and 
halted  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  As  they  were  sit- 
ting, enjoying  the  cool  air,  to  their  amazement  they 
beheld  a  young  girl  carrying  a  cow  up  the  village 
street.  She  stopped  at  the  house  immediately  op- 
posite them  and  proceeded  to  mount  the  stair,  as 
gracefully  and  easily  as  if  she  had  been  carrying  a 
feather  instead  of  a  full-grown  cow. 

The  young  King  was  so  amazed  he  sent  an 
attendant  instantly  to  ask  the  young  girl  to  come 


250  FITNA  AND  THE  COW 

and  speak  to  him  so  that  he  might  compliment  her 
on  her  wondrous  feat.  But  he  returned  with  the 
answer  that  the  young  girl  would  be  pleased  to 
give  the  King  any  information  he  required  if  he 
would  do  her  the  honour  of  coming  to  her  house. 

This  made  the  King  even  more  curious  and  with 
his  faithful  minister,  the  very  one  who  had  taken 
Fitna  to  the  village  and  who  had  a  shrewd  suspicion 
that  the  young  girl  was  Fitna,  Bahram  hurried 
across  the  river.  Then  he  stationed  the  minister  at 
the  foot  of  the  stair  and  ran  up  to  the  room  of  this 
mysterious  person  who  could  carry  a  cow  up  and 
down  twenty  stairs. 

He  found  Fitna  closely  veiled,  as  was  the  custom 
of  Persian  girls  when  meeting  a  stranger,  and  he  at 
once  expressed  his  great  admiration  for  her  skill  and 
strength  and  said  it  was  the  most  remarkable  ex- 
hibition of  dexterity  he  ever  had  witnessed. 

But  the  mysterious  young  girl  merely  shook  her 
head  at  his  praises  and  said  quietly  that  none  were 
due.  She  had  done  nothing  remarkable  at  all. 
Then,  lifting  her  veil,  Fitna  looked  him  straight  in 
the  eyes  and  said:  "Practice  makes  perfect.  I 
merely  did  a  simple  thing  a  great  many  times  so 


FITNA  AND  THE  COW  251 

that  you  could  see  for  yourself  there  is  nothing  to 
be  proud  of  in  that  sort  of  achievement,  although 
ignorant  people,  not  knowing  how  the  skill  is 
obtained,  may  marvel." 

Naturally  Bahrain  was  overjoyed  to  see  his  friend 
again,  but  he  was  still  more  touched  to  think  she  had 
been  practising  all  these  years,  with  such  great 
patience,  just  to  teach  him  not  to  be  conceited. 
Looking  round  the  simple  room,  he  saw  the  walls 
were  covered  with  beautiful  embroidered  hangings 
on  which  Fitna  had  worked  the  scene  where  Shah 
Husheng  struck  the  rock  with  his  stone,  and  brought 
forth  fire.  There  was  the  lilac  and  there  was  the 
rose  tree  underneath  which  they  had  rested  that 
day  when  he  had  sentenced  Fitna  to  perish  in  the 
mountains.  But  instead  of  fretting  at  his  injustice 
and  unkindness,  or  of  harbouring  bitter  thoughts 
in  her  mind  against  him,  she  had  patiently  set  to 
work  to  prove  what  could  be  accomplished  by  faith- 
ful labour. 

"  Fitna,"  said  he,  "  you  have  told  me  many  stories, 
now  I  will  tell  you  the  legend  of  the  Caliph  and  the 
pearls.  Once  when  a  camel  of  the  Caliph's  train 
tripped  in  a  narrow  street,  a  casketful  of  pearls  fell 


252  FITNA  AND  THE  COW 

and  the  jewels  rolled  over  the  road.  The  Caliph  told 
his  attendants  they  might  pick  up  the  pearls  for 
themselves  and  all  hastened  to  gather  as  many  as 

they  could.    But  the  Caliph  noticed  one  stayed  beside 

/ 

him  and  did  not  attempt  to  seize  so  much  as  a  single 
pearl.  '  Do  you  not  value  my  gift?  '  said  the  Caliph. 

" '  Sir/  said  the  attendant,  '  my  duty  is  to  guard 
my  master  faithfully  and  I  receive  quite  sufficient 
reward  in  doing  that/ 

"  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Caliph  saw,  that 
among  all  his  attendants,  one  was  a  jewel  beyond 
all  other  jewels?  You,  Fitna,  have  proved  that  you 
care  nothing  for  my  gifts,  your  desire  is  to  guard 
me  from  my  own  follies.  I  see  your  merit,  and  beg 
you  to  return  to  court  and  help  me  to  rule  my 
kingdom  wisely  and  justly,  without  pride  or  vanity, 
so  that  I  shall  not  suffer  the  fate  of  Shah  Jemshid." 

With  these  words,  Bahram  led  Fitna  down  the 
stairs  on  which  he  had  seen  her  carrying  the  cow, 
and  presented  her  to  the  minister  and  all  the 
courtiers,  as  his  most  faithful  friend. 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

A  Tale  of  Wales 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  proud  grand 
Emperor  who  lived  in  Rome.  He  was  so 
proud,  he  never  lifted  his  hand  to  do  a  thing  for 
himself.  His  cloak  was  buttoned  and  brooched,  and 
his  boots  Were  laced  and  his  shirt  was  slipped  over 
his  head  by  his  servants,  and  they  were  no  less  than 
Kings,  so  you  can  tell  how  grand  he  was.  One  day 
he  called  these  thirty-two  Kings  who  were  his  serv- 
ants, and  said  they  would  go  out  hunting,  and  so  off 
they  started  on  their  prancing  horses.  You  may  be 
sure  the  Emperor's  horse  pranced  twice  as  high  as 
any  one  else's,  but  he  was  a  good  rider  for  all  he  was 
so  helpless  with  his  hands,  and  rode  at  their  head  all 
gleaming  in  gold  and  silver,  looking  as  handsome 
as  a  picture. 

The  day  was  very  hot  and  they  turned  into  a 
cool  valley  where  a  river  rushed  along,  tumbling 

253 


254  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

from  the  mountains.  But  even  here  the  sun  beat 
down  and  at  last  the  Emperor  began  to  feel  so 
sleepy,  he  told  every  one  to  stop  and  said  he  would 
lie  down  and  have  a  little  nap.  Being  Emperor,  he 
was  used  to  doing  anything  he  pleased  any  minute, 
and  down  he  jumped,  and  these  thirty-two  servants 


A  fine  harbour  with  castles  and  towers. 

who  were  Kings,  laid  a  golden  shield  under  the 
Emperor's  head  for  a  pillow,  and  they  all  stood 
round  him  and  held  their  shields  over  his  head  to 
make  a  shade. 

Soon  the  Emperor's  eyes  were  shut  and  he  was 
dreaming,  and  because  the  river  sounded  so  loud  and 
noisy  now  that  he  was  on  the  ground  with  his  ear 
close  to  it,  it  kept  on  sounding  through  his  dream. 
He  dreamed  he  was  following  it  till  he  came  to  the 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  255 

mountains  and  then  he  went  straight  over  until  he 
stood  in  a  fair,  broad  land.  The  river  was  flowing 
through  it  and  the  Emperor  followed  and  presently 
it  reached  the  sea  and  there  was  a  fine  harbour  with 
castles  and  towers,  and  a  great  gilt  ship  lying 
against  the  quay.  Then  the  Emperor  dreamed  he 
walked  aboard  and  immediately  the  ship  sailed 
across  the  sea  until  it  reached  a  land  full  of  moun- 
tains and  out  he  got  and  went  straight  across  this 
land  till  he  came  to  the  end  of  it  and  there  was  the 
sea  again  and  an  island  facing  him.  By  the  shore 
was  a  harbour  with  a  big  castle,  and  the  Emperor 
dreamed  he  went  up  to  this  castle  and  found  the 
hall  door  wide  open,  so  that  he  walked  straight  in 
and  found  himself  in  an  enormous  hall  with  a  ceiling 
of  gold,  walls  set  with  jewels,  and  doors  of  gold 
beaten  and  hammered  into  patterns.  There  were 
golden  benches  with  embroidered  cushions,  and 
silver  tables,  and  opposite  him  sat  two  boys  playing 
chess.  They  were  dressed  in  jet  black  satin  which 
contrasted  with  their  golden  hair  bound  with  chap- 
lets  of  golden  leaves  and  flowers  made  from  bright 
jewels. 

They  were  pale,  clever,  beautiful  lads  with  long 


256  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

white  fingers  that  touched  everything  they  handled 
firmly  and  yet  very  delicately,  and  they  played  with 
golden  chessmen  on  a  silver  board.  Directly  the 
Emperor  saw  these  two  lads  he  had  a  strange  feel- 
ing that  some  day  he  would  be  beholden  to  them. 

But  there  were  other  people  in  the  hall.  A  little 
way  off  sat  their  father  with  snow-white  hair  and  a 
kind  noble  look.  He  sat  in  an  ivory  chair  with 
two  eagles  carved  on  it,  filled  in  with  ruddy  gold; 
and  he  held  a  gold  rule  and  steel  file  and  was  carving 
out  the  golden  chessmen  the  boys  played  with. 
Beside  him  sat  a  slip  of  a  girl,  even  more  finely 
dressed  than  any  of  them;  she  wore  a  vest  of  white 
satin  and  a  surcoat  of  gold  tissue  and  round  her 
golden  hair  was  a  chaplet  of  gold  set  with  flashing 
jewels.  She  was  as  busy  as  the  rest  for  her  fingers 
were  sending  her  needle  in  and  out  of  her  em- 
broidery frame. 

The  Emperor  had  never  seen  grand  people  sitting 
contentedly,  making  things  with  their  hands.  His 
notion  of  grand  people  was  that  they  never  lifted  a 
finger  to  do  a  thing  for  themselves  and  the  sight  of 
this  beautiful  happy  family  quite  upset  and  aston- 
ished him.  He  liked  the  looks  of  them  ever  so  much, 


They  played  with  golden  chessmen  on  a  silver  board. 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  259 

but  beside  them,  he  felt  so  stiff  and  clumsy  and 
useless,  he  didn't  know  what  to  say  to  them.  Just 
then  the  girl  lifted  her  head  and  looked  at  him  and 
there  she  had  the  kindest  smile  you  ever  saw;  and  he 
started  to  go  forward  to  them  all.  But  as  he  did 
so,  he  heard  a  sound  as  if  all  the  dogs  in  the  castle 
were  barking  and  horses  neighing  and  stamping 
and  shields  clattering,  and  he  opened  his  eyes  and 
found  he  was  in  the  valley  which  led  to  Rome,  with 
the  river  rushing  by  him,  and  the  Kings  who  were 
his  servants  still  standing  round  him,  first  on  one 
leg  and  then  on  the  other,  holding  up  the  heavy 
shields  and  letting  them  clatter  a  bit  against  each 
other,  maybe,  because  the  Emperor  had  been  sleep- 
ing so  long,  every  one  was  wishful  for  a  move. 

Yet  there  was  the  Emperor,  in  his  own  empire  of 
Rome,  and  no  strange  castle  or  maiden  or  chess- 
players to  be  seen. 

He  rose  up  then,  but  he  would  take  no  food,  and  he 
rode  back  with  no  pride  in  him  and  let  his  horse 
trot  as  quietly  as  if  it  had  been  behind  a  cart. 
When  he  got  up  to  his  rooms  he  sent  his  servants 
the  Kings  to  have  some  dinner,  and  unbrooched  his 
cloak  and  took  off  his  boots  and  his  toga  and  put 


26o  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

them  away  himself.  He  kept  on  remembering  those 
lads  in  his  dream,  he  knew  they  would  not  let  any 
one  fuss  round  them,  treating  them  like  babies. 
They  could  do  anything  they  cared  to,  and  make 
anything  they  wished,  and  everything  they  used  or 
made  or  touched  was  beautiful.  While  as  for  the 
tidiness  of  their  castle,  it  was  beyond  belief.  The 
Emperor  became  so  miserable,  he  just  took  to  sitting 
by  himself  and  had  no  more  interest  in  dressing  up 
in  togas  that  looked  no  better  than  sheets,  and 
prancing  about  and  ordering  the  Kings  around;  he 
paid  no  attention  to  his  subjects  either,  and  when 
people  sent  in  petitions  for  this  favour  or  that, 
the  Emperor  let  them  lie  on  his  table,  and  sat  there 
saying  to  himself,  "  What  a  useless,  wretched,  proud, 
lonely  Emperor  I  am.  Oh,  that  I  had  those  beautiful 
clever  people  in  my  dream  for  friends  so  that  they 
could  teach  me  to  use  my  hands  and  make  gold 
chessmen  too." 

One  day  the  head  servant,  who  was  King  of  the 
Romans,  plucked  up  his  courage  and  marched  up 
to  the  Emperor  and  told  him  that  every  one  in  the 
Roman  Empire  was  saying  hard  things  about  the 
Emperor  because  he  wasn't  paying  any  attention  to 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  261 

any  one  or  being  any  sort  of  an  Emperor  at  all; 
and  so  then  the  Emperor  told  him  his  dream. 

Well,  the  head  servant  who  was^  King  of  the 
Romans,  thought  it  was  a  most  remarkable  dream 
and  advised  the  Emperor  to  send  for  all  the  Wise 
Men  in  the  empire,  and  ask  if  there  was  anything 
that  could  be  done;  and  in  they  came.  The  Emperor 
took  heart  when  he  saw  them  with  their  white 
beards  and  sharp  eyes,  looking  as  wise  as  wise  and 
he  told  them  the  dream  he  had  dreamed  that  day 
when  he  lay  by  the  side  of  the  river. 

The  Wise  Men  whispered  together  a  bit,  as  it  isn't 
wise  to  answer  too  quickly,  and  then  said  the  Em- 
peror had  better  send  out  messengers  to  search  the 
whole  world  and  see  if  they  could  find  any  people 
like  those  he  had  dreamed  about.  They  were  to  go 
for  three  years  at  least  and  come  back  every  year 
and  tell  him.  "  And  then,"  said  the  Wise  Men,  "  you 
will  always  be  in  hopes  you  will  have  good  news  at 
the  end  of  the  year." 

The  King  of  the  Romans  and  the  Emperor 
thought  this  a  very  good  plan,  for  the  Emperor  was 
certain  there  must  be  some  people  like  that  or  he 
could  never  have  dreamed  about  them  in  such  a 


262  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

natural  way.  So  off  the  messengers  went.  Every 
man  had  a  sleeve  tied  to  his  cap  in  the  front  of  it  so 
that  every  one  who  saw  them  coming  would  know 
they  were  peaceful  and  had  not  come  out  to  con- 
quer, or  steal  anything  (which  is  much  the  same 
thing  as  conquering). 

Well,  the  messengers  searched  everywhere  round 
Rome  for  a  whole  year  but  all  the  grand  people  they 
met  were  being  waited  on  by  servants  and  were  as 
useless  as  pigs,  and  they  had  to  come  back  and  tell 
the  Emperor  that  when  folks  were  rich  and  grand, 
they  always  seemed  to  become  helpless. 

The  Emperor  pulled  such  a  long  face  when  he 
heard  this  bad  news,  however,  that  the  King  of  the 
Romans  who  was  head  servant,  said  why  shouldn't 
the  messengers  go  with  the  Emperor  to  the  place 
where  the  Emperor  had  dreamed  his  dream,  and  then 
the  Emperor  could  tell  them  exactly  the  way  he  had 
taken  in  the  dream. 

Every  one  went  off,  therefore,  to  the  river,  and 
when  the  Emperor  got  there,  he  told  them  how  he 
had  followed  the  river  to  the  west,  and  gone  over 
the  mountains  and  on  with  the  river  to  the  sea, 
and  all  the  messengers  threw  their  caps  in  the  air 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  263 

for  joy  because  now  they  had  something  to  go  on, 
and  they  started  for  the  second  time. 

They  crossed  the  mountains,  and  found  the  river 
flowing  through  a  land  such  as  the  Emperor  had 
described,  and  continuing,  they  discovered  the  sea 
and  the  ship  and  they  boarded  it  even  as  the  Em- 
peror had  done  in  his  dream  and  sailed  to  the  land 
he  had  dreamed  of,  and  found  it  was  the  island  of 
Britain.  They  crossed  it  and  came  to  the  mountain 
of  Snowdon  and  beyond  that  was  the  harbour  and 
sea  and  the  little  Island  of  Anglesey  perking  out  of 
it  and  a  fine  big  castle  on  the  shore.  You  can  guess 
how  pleased  the  messengers  were  when  they  arrived 
and  found  the  hall  door  open  and  the  boys  playing 
chess  and  the  old  man  making  chessmen  and  the 
maiden  embroidering,  busy  and  happy  and  beautiful 
as  the  Emperor  had  dreamed. 

They  knelt  down  respectfully  at  once  and  said, 
"  All  hail,  you  are  to  come  with  us  instantly  to  Rome 
where  the  noble  Emperor  our  master  waits  for  you, 
and  you,  oh,  maiden,  are  to  be  Empress  of  Rome, 
for  the  Emperor  desires  to  become  one  of  the  family, 
and  for  that  end,  he  will  graciously  marry  you." 

But  the  maiden  had  something  to  say  to  that. 


264  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

Up  went  her  chin  as  she  said,  "  Thank  you  for  the 
kind  offer,  but  if  the  Emperor  of  Rome  wants  to 
know  us,  he  can  come  to  our  door  like  any  other 
visitor.  We  ourselves  are  much  too  busy  to  go 
visiting,  and  especially  at  a  stranger's  bidding. 
Where  is  Rome,  for  that  matter?  I  never  heard  of 
the  place." 

It  wasn't  the  Words  so  much  as  the  way  she  spoke 
them,  that  made  the  messengers  see  at  once  that 
here  was  no  maiden  such  as  they  knew  at  Rome,  but 
some  one  as  independent  and  more  so  than  the 
Emperor  too.  She  spoke,  indeed,  with  such  fire,  that 
her  father  had  to  rise  and  say,  "  Peace,  Helen,  these 
men  have  come  from  a  long  distance  and  the  first 
thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  set  the  table  and  offer 
them  a  drink  and  bite  and  then  we  can  hear  about 
this  Rome  they  talk  of." 

So  the  maiden  made  haste  to  do  her  father's 
bidding  and  brought  a  fine  pasty  and  a  better  cake 
and  a  mighty  flagon  of  cider  out  of  a  cupboard  in  the 
wall,  and  the  boys  hastened  to  lay  a  beautiful  em- 
broidered cloth  on  the  table,  with  a  garland  of 
flowers  worked  on  it  so  gay  and  pretty,  wreathing 
about  with  spaces  for  the  plates;  and  then  they 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  265 

offered  fringed  napkins  which  they  had  woven,  and 
golden  goblets  which  they  had  made,  and  a  bowl 
of  rich  fruit  and  sweetmeats  to  top  off  with,  as  if 
the  messengers  had  been  the  Emperor  himself.  He 
could  have  fared,  and  would  have  fared  no  better, 
for  this  clever  beautiful  family  never  made  any  dif- 
ference in  their  way  of  welcoming  people. 

After  they  had  eaten  and  drunk  and  made  compli- 
ments about  how  nice  everything  was,  the  mes- 
sengers explained  about  the  Emperor's  dream,  and 
the  clever  family  told  them  to  go  back  to  Rome  and 
tell  him  they  were  too  fond  of  Britain  to  leave  it, 
but  if  he  cared  to  visit  him  they  would  be  as  pleased 
to  see  the  Emperor  as  any  other  guest. 

Maybe  the  old  man  put  a  bit  extra  dignity  into  his 
voice  and  the  maid,  whose  name  was  Helen,  certainly 
stuck  up  her  chin  again,  for  they  did  not  particularly 
relish  being  sent  for  as  if  they  were  slaves  and  told 
they  were  to  take  a  perfect  stranger  into  their 
family.  They  lived  as  they  pleased,  could  make  any- 
thing they  had  a  mind  to,  and  why  should  they  want 
to  go  to  Rome  and  marry  an  Emperor? 

So  the  messengers  went  back  to  Rome.  How  glad 
the  Emperor  was  to  hear  his  family  existed.  Flags 


266  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

flew  from  the  city  walls,  every  school  had  a  holiday, 
the  Emperor  danced  about  the  room  in  his  joy,  and 
so  did  the  King  of  the  Romans. 

Of  course  the  Emperor  set  off  for  Britain,  and 
.  called  his  thirty-two  Kings  together  and  his  army 
and  told  them  to  polish  their  shields  and  helmets 
and  stick  feathers  into  their  caps,  instead  of  sleeves, 
for  now  they  were  all  going  over  to  conquer  Britain. 
It  had  never  occurred  to  him  to  go  to  a  place  with- 
out conquering  it. 

So  they  went  to  Britain  and  directly  the  Emperor 
landed,  he  started  conquering  it,  and  the  people  left 
their  homes  and  fled  to  the  mountains  and  the 
mighty  Roman  army  marched  along,  thinking  they 
looked  very  handsome  and  that  they  were  filling  the 
people  with  awe  and  wonder,  and  the  Emperor 
pranced  at  their  head,  so  eager  to  reach  this  clever 
family  he  could  not  stop  for  meat  or  drink.  Then 
they  arrived  at  the  castle,  and  the  Emperor  puffed 
out  his  chest  and  tried  to  look  as  splendid  as  lie 
could,  and  jumped  off  his  horse  with  a  great  clatter 
and  marched  in  with  his  swinging  cloak.  But  when 
he  saw  his  clever,  beautiful  family  sitting  there, 
going  about  their  business  so  quietly,  the  pride  in  him 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  267 

seemed  to  melt  and  run  out  of  his  boots  and  he  knelt 
down  at  the  old  man's  feet  even  as  the  messengers 
had  done  and  said  he  had  dreamed  of  them  but  now 
he  had  come,  they  were  better  than  his  dream,  and 
was  there  anything  he  could  do  to  get  them  to  be 
friends  with  him.  He  admired  everything  so  much 
and  begged  so  hard  to  be  one  of  the  family,  that 
Helen  said  yes.  Then  there  was  great  rejoicings 
and  the  old  man  said  he  would  teach  the  Emperor 
how  to  make  chessmen,  and  the  boys  said  they 
would  teach  him  to  play,  for  chess  made  one  think 
deep  and  wisely,  and  Helen  said  she  would  teach 
him  to  embroider  and  lose  some  of  the  clumsiness 
from  his  fingers. 

The  Emperor  stayed  with  the  family,  therefore, 
but  he  soon  found  that  they  did  not  like  him  any 
the  better  or  think  him  any  more  splendid  and  noble 
for  having  conquered  Britain.  Instead,  they  said  it 
was  a  foolish  wicked  thing  to  do;  Britain  belonged 
to  the  British  and  conquering  it  was  no  better  than 
stealing,  and  Helen  told  the  Emperor  he  must  give 
it  back  at  once  to  her  father,  from  shore  to  shore,  or 
she  would  never  be  Empress  of  Rome.  And  then 
Helen  told  him  if  he  were  going  to  stay  in  Britain, 


268  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

he  must  do  things  for  the  good  of  the  country,  as  a 
visitor;  and  it  would  be  good  to  build  some  more  big 
castles  like  theirs;  that  is  how  the  castles  of  Arvon 
and  Caerlleon  and  Caermarthen  came  to  be  built. 

Then  Helen  thought  it  would  be  fine  to  have 
good  roads  running  from  one  castle  to  the  other,  and 
the  men  of  Britain  built  them  for  her  and  called  them 
the  roads  of  Helen  Luddawc,  for  they  would  never 
have  built  them  at  a  stranger's  bidding,  even  if  he 
were  Emperor  of  Rome. 

What  with  building  the  castles  and  learning  the 
use  of  his  hands,  the  Emperor  was  so  busy  that 
seven  years  slipped  away  like  no  time,  until  a  letter 
came  saying,  a  new  Emperor  had  taken  his  place  and 
he  was  no  longer  Emperor  of  Rome,  and  moreover, 
this  new  Emperor  sent  an  insulting  message  telling 
him  not  to  dare  to  show  his  face  in  Rome  again. 

Now  the  Emperor  and  Helen  had  a  great  plan  that 
she  was  to  teach  the  Romans  to  be  clever  with  their 
hands  and  not  need  servants  and  slaves  to  make  and 
do  everything  for  them;  and  the  Emperor  saw  he 
must  go  straight  back  to  Rome  if  he  wanted  to  stay 
Emperor  and  help  the  Romans  to  be  wiser  people. 

He  went  back  at  once,  therefore,  and  Helen  went 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  269 

with  him,  for  now  that  the  Emperor  was  in  trouble, 
of  course  Helen  and  her  family  stayed  his  friends, 
and  wished  to  help  him. 

When  they  came  to  Rome,  the  gates  were  shut 
and  the  walls  defended,  and  the  Emperor  and  Helen 
and  the  army  had  to  sit  down  before  the  city  and 
besiege  it,  for  no  one  would  let  them  in. 

They  stayed  there  for  a  whole  year,  trying  to 
knock  down  the  walls,  in  vain. 

But  one  day  whom  should  they  see  marching  over 
the  plain  but  a  little  army;  every  man  was  beauti- 
fully dressed  and  they  carried  wonderfully  beautiful 
standards  which  put  joy  and  courage  into  the  hearts 
of  all  who  looked  at  them.  And  how  they  were 
singing!  A  band  of  angels  might  have  been  arriving. 

V 

There  were  Helen's  brothers,  the  chess  players,  come 
over  with  some  of  their  men  from  Britain,  to  help 
Helen  and  the  Emperor. 

But  instead  of  helping  to  fight,  Helen's  brothers 
sat  back  with  their  followers,  and  rested  from  their 
journey  and  watched  the  way  the  Emperor's  army 
fought. 

They  soon  saw  the  guns  and  swords  and  arrows 
were  no  use  at  all,  for  the  more  stones  the  Emperor's 


270  THE  CHESS  PLAYERS 

army  threw,  the  angrier  the  people  inside  became, 
and  the  more  determined  not  to  let  the  army  in;  so 
at  last  Helen's  brothers  said  one  to  the  other,  "  The 
Emperor  has  learned  the  use  of  his  hands,  maybe, 
but  he  hasn't  yet  learned  to  use  his  brains.  We  can 
get  into  the  city  more  expertly  than  this." 

That  day  they  measured  the  height  of  the  walls 
by  their  shadow,  and  then  they  sent  their  men  to 
the  woods  for  straight  young  trees,  and  then  they 
took  their  rule  and  measured  off  ladders,  the  exact 
height  of  the  walls,  one  for  every  four  men. 

Now  at  midday  each  day,  the  Emperors  went  to 
dinner,  inside  and  outside  the  city,  and  so  did  all  the 
armies  and  the  battle  stopped.  But  the  Welshmen 
rose  early  and  ate  their  breakfast  and  then  when 
every  one  went  to  dinner  the  brothers  took  their 
ladders  and  set  them  against  the  walls  in  a  quiet  spot 
and  their  followers  climbed  up  and  entered  the 
city. 

They  drew  up  their  ladders  after  them,  and  no  one 
had  the  least  idea  where  they  had  gone. 

Presently  the  Emperor  said  to  Helen  he  wondered 
her  brothers  didn't  help  him. 

"  You  go  and  ask  my  brothers  to  give  you  your 


THE  CHESS  PLAYERS  271 

city,"  said  Helen,  "  for  they  are  the  wisest  men  in 
the  world." 

So  the  Emperor  went  over  to  ask  their  help,  and 
the  brothers  led  him  to  the  gates  of  Rome,  which 
immediately  flew  open  and  there  was  every  one  with 
the  Welshmen  ready  to  welcome  the  Emperor  back. 
For  the  Welshmen  had  so  charmed  the  Romans  with 
their  singing  and  their  clever  ways  of  doing  things, 
the  Romans  were  ready  enough  to  welcome  Helen 
and  the  Emperor  and  learn  how  to  make  use  of  their 
hands. 

When  the  Emperor  thanked  Helen's  brothers,  they 
laughed  and  said  climbing  a  wali  was  better  than 
knocking  it  down,  and  he  would  know  that,  if  he 
had  ever  taken  the  trouble  to  build  one  and  found 
what  a  work  it  was ! 


University  of  California  Library 
Los  Angeles 


phon 

3\ 
R«  i&* 


3  1158  00143  8216       I 


